Apart from verification, Tinder said that it also plans on cross-referencing the IDs with sex offenders lists; this type of verification also makes an appearance in India's draft PDP Bill. Tinder is going to roll out a government ID-based verification feature to all of its users 'over the coming quarters', the dating app said in its press release on August 16. The draft Personal Data Protection (PDP) Bill 2019 which was under consideration by a Joint Parliamentary Committee, had also included a provision for social media companies to allow users to voluntarily verify their identity by providing government-issued proofs. However, the linking of government IDs to dating apps or social media profiles raises fears of privacy violations as personal (even biometric) information can be shared with private organisations. This is particularly concerning in the absence of a data protection law. Along with this, particularly in the case of dating apps, experts have raised concerns about potential profiling by the government, especially members of the LGBTQ+ and other minority communities. How the verification process could take place In the press release, the company said that the process would begin as voluntary, except in countries where such verification is mandatory - for example in Japan, ID-based verification is necessary to prove that a dating app user is above the age of 18. In Japan, according to a Tinder guide, the verification process involves the submission of a scanned passport, driver's license, or health ID by the user which is then used to verify their…
