Following a complaint from The Norwegian Consumer Council this spring, The Norwegian Consumer Ombudsman asked Tinder to make several changes in their contract terms, so the terms were in accordance with Norwegian law. Tinder has made some changes, but the contract terms are still too long and unclear. We therefore demand that Tinder makes significant changes, so that Norwegian consumers can understand what they really are accepting when they start using the app.
– Tinder now has the possibility to be one of the first, international apps to take Norwegian consumers seriously by giving them terms and conditions they can understand and accept, says Consumer Ombudsman Gry Nergård.
The Consumer Ombudsman demands:
- That the terms are made easier to understand
- That they are translated into Norwegian
- That Tinder clarifies what the company means by giving themselves the right to reuse content that the users have produced in the app (pictures, text etc).
- That Norwegian consumers can solve unresolved issues with Tinder by the Norwegian court, so they do not have to travel to Texas for this purpose.
- That it is made clear that Norwegian law, not American law, is applicable.
- That users are appropriately informed when Tinder makes significant changes in terms and conditions.
- That they give users information about what happens with their content if they terminate the contract
- That Tinder has clear rules for when the company can terminate an account, and that users are informed about the cause of the termination if they are kicked out of the app.
International problem
Long, complicated and unclear user terms in apps are a widespread problem. Since many of the companies are international, it is important that consumer authorities cooperate across national borders.
– We will contribute to lifting this problem up on the international agenda for consumer authorities, and hope we can develop a common European standard for how app terms should be designed, says Nergård.
The Consumer Ombudsman is also in dialog with The Norwegian Data Protection Authority concerning the obtaining and use of personal information in app terms.
– It is important that we do something about this problem now, before it grows in scope. We hope the Tinder-case can contribute by putting into place contract terms that can be used as an industry standard, where app terms are designed in an easy and understandable way, so consumers easily can understand what they accept when they take the app in use. This is for the best, both for the consumers and for the companies behind the apps, says Nergård.