The lawsuit, filed Friday, describes how Doe, then a high school student who had not yet come out as gay, downloaded Grindr to make friends with other underage boys. He then exchanged explicit photos and messages with four adult men, who sexually assaulted him at his home or in a park, according to the complaint.
After the teenager testified at the criminal trial, three of the four men were subsequently found guilty of sexual interference with a child and jailed for between 24 and 54 months, according to the lawsuit. The fourth one was not found.
By accusing the company of knowing its product promotes child rape, the lawsuit equates Grindr with other organizations such as the Boy Scouts of America and the Catholic Church that “turn a blind eye to the systematic sexual abuse of children.”
He accuses Grindr of marketing to children by running accounts on Instagram and TikTok, social media platforms where many brands – from other dating apps to alcohol companies – also have accounts.
The lawsuit also cites two TikTok videos that were later removed by Grindr in which adult content creators pretend to be students outside of high school or in gym class. The lawsuit alleges that the latter “clearly occurs in an elementary, middle or high school classroom.”
“Through this TikTok video, Grindr is directly marketing to children and sending them messages that indicate both that Grindr should be used in school and that it should be used by children,” the lawsuit states.
Grindr's TikTok accountwhich has over 138,000 subscribers, is regularly intercepted by adult content creators who post videos on behalf of the company.
The lawsuit alleges that Grindr could have prevented Doe's abuse by using a third-party age verification service, requiring a government ID to use the app or blocking its use in schools, among other things.
Lenihan, the Grindr spokesman, said Apple, Google and the entire tech industry must work together to develop better age-restricting technology that also respects user privacy.
Doe is suing Grindr for defective design, defective manufacturing, defective warning, negligence and negligent misrepresentation. He is also filing a civil lawsuit. according to US Code section who is involved in human trafficking.
