Complaints against Grindr and five ad tech companies are filed at the Norwegian Data Protection Authority

The Norwegian Consumer Council (Forbrukerrådet) and noyb filed three formal complaints against Grindr and ad tech companies that were receiving personal data through the app: Twitter’s MoPub, AT&T’s AppNexus, OpenX, AdColony and Smaato.

The complaint followed an investigation carried out by the Norwegian Consumer Council which found that the online advertising industry was “systematically breaking the law”, transmitting personal data and tracking users in ways that are banned under the GDPR.

Among other data, the Grindr advertisement network received the GPS location and device identifiers associated to Grindr users. The use of the Grindr app can itself be indicative of sexual orientation, meaning that special category data was passed on to the wider network.