Chinese gaming company Beijing Kunlun Tech Co Limited is seeking to sell Grindr, the popular gay dating app it has owned since 2016, after a US government national security panel raised concerns about its ownership, according to people familiar with the matter.
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) has informed Kunlun that its ownership of West Hollywood, California-based Grindr constitutes a national security risk, the two sources told Reuters.
CFIUS’s specific concerns and whether any attempt was made to mitigate them could not be learned. The United States has been increasingly scrutinizing application developers over the safety of personal data they handle, especially if some of it involves US military or intelligence personnel.
Kunlun had said last August it was preparing for an initial public offering (IPO) of Grindr. As a result of CFIUS’ intervention, Kunlun has now shifted its focus to an auction process to sell Grindr outright, given that the IPO would have kept Grindr under Kunlun’s control for a longer period of time, the sources said.
Grindr has hired US investment bank Cowen to handle the sale process, and is soliciting acquisition interest from US investment firms, as well as Grindr’s competitors, according to the sources.
The development represents a rare, high-profile example of CFIUS undoing an acquisition that has already been completed. Kunlun took over Grindr through two separate deals between 2016 and 2018 without submitting the acquisition for CFIUS review, according to the sources, making it vulnerable to such an intervention.
The sources asked not to be identified because the matter is confidential.
Kunlun representatives did not respond to requests for comment. Grindr and Cowen declined to comment. A spokesman for the US Department of the Treasury, which chairs CFIUS, said the panel does not comment publicly on individual cases.
Grindr, which describes itself as the world’s largest social networking app for gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people, had 27 million users as of 2017. The company collects personal information submitted by its users.
Offering it as an IPO is another Chinese shell game to get around the road blocks such as CFIUS. Huawei did the same thing and were caught. There should be no Chinese tech companies competing in the American Markets until the Trade issue with China is resolved. Much of the new enforcement mechanisms with the language of the MOU put forth by Lighthizer covers issues such as stealing trade and Military secrets by way of imported products that include Mobile Apps, and other electronic devices. Such products should undergo a full vetting process before being sold to the public.
Just how is a homosexual network like this in the hands of the ChiComs a national security risk? Is the federal government rife with poofters looking for a hookup but who don’t want to be blackmailed?
Look deeper into this issue! Its about spying capabilities among other things that can have an adverse effect. Information gathering mostly!
There are lots of things to get upset about with the ChiComs before I’ll care what they may do against homosexuals.
Nixon was wrong, and the ChiComs are using us with the full participation of the DNC to sustain and grow the hegemony they’ve long lusted after and once they think they’re too big and too powerful to fail the capitalism they’ve tolerated will be quietly swept away in favor of the socialism that has always been at their heart. Yes, they’ll be smarter than to launch some new Cultural Revolution; but, I look at recent moves to dechristianize the Party as evidence they think they’re closer to this goal than ever before.
You are missing the point. It is not about Homosexuals, its about the technical capabilities that the app would provide in terms of information gathering. Reread the article!
The ChiComs have access to great hackers anyway. As for the technical capabilities, yeah, no, probably run of the mill. It’s a social networking program. It serves a small community. Innovation? They even supposedly have their own home grown form of Grinder (it made the news in recent months IIRC). How many ways can you Fung Shui a website?
But if they would just be honest and admit government employed perverts use the app and are paying people to give up their data to … or better yet rid government of any homosexuals as security risks as they used to do … they wouldn’d have to make it like Grinder is a vital innovator.
To my way of thinking it’s a greater risk being in the hands of the Chi Com’s.
The personal information stored by them on military, security, and people in our Intel/HS agencies could certainly be used for blackmail and other nefarious purposes such as targeting those personnel for terrorist/spy attacks.
Blackmail? I believe the line from the song is “same as it ever was”.
Frankly, I think it would be a good idea for everyone to stay away from any internet media that doesn’t at least actively support anonymity.
People these days just do not seem to realize that life isn’t like a box of chocolates but like a plate of chilies: what you do today will burn your butt tomorrow.
Why is it that the US government only cares about the security of ■■■■■■■■ Don’t people who aren’t sexually inverted deserve privacy too?
I’m betting that heterosexuals are frequently harder to blackmail.
They have used the media and big tech companies to 100% confuse people way of thinking, we are so far beyond screeed its ridiculous. They have all of the USA pandering to what 5% of our country? (i seriously don’t know the percentage of ■■■■■■■■■■■■ but it can’t be that high).