Tinder settles lawsuit over age discrimination
It charged people 30 and up twice as much as their younger counterparts.
Mature romantics just caught a break. Tinder has settled a lawsuit accusing it of age discrimination for charging the 30-and-up crowd double to subscribe to its premium Tinder Plus service. The Match Group-owned brand will pay $17.25 million in cash and in-app features (such as $25 checks, Super Likes and Plus/Gold subscriptions) to users who had to pay $20 per month instead of the $10 offered to younger customers. Tinder will also have to stop charging general age-based rates in California, although it will have the option of discounting service for people 21 or younger.
The woman behind the lawsuit, Lisa Kim, will also receive $5,000.
We've asked Tinder for comment. The company had previously defended the age-related rates by likening them to student pricing. Younger users typically don't have as much money to spend, it argued, so they needed a lower price to justify signing up. However, the rate was dictated solely by age, not educational or economic status -- you could be a 32-year-old in school and still pay twice as much as a 29-year-old with money to burn. It's safe to say Tinder will need to use narrower criteria than age if it plans a similar pricing strategy in the future.
