In a news story making waves across the UK, a man has been arrested and charged with four murders. He is accused of using the popular gay dating and hook up app Grindr as a means to find his victims.

Stephen Port, 40, of East London, has been linked to the deaths of four different young gay men.

Google News: Stephen Port charged with four murders in Barking – BBC News http://t.co/Fn7ikac1Oz

— Ciscaucasia (@ciscaucasia) October 19, 2015

All four were found in the yard of a church and died as the result of high doses of GHB. GHB, sometimes called “liquid ecstasy” is best known as a date-rape drug. It suppresses the central nervous system. In large doses, it can be fatal.

The first victim, Anthony Patrick Walgate, 23, was discovered in June 2014. Then Gabriel Kovari, 22, was found in August 2014, and Daniel Whitworth, 21, was found in September. The final victim, Jack Taylor, 25, was found this September. Their professions ranged from working at a warehouse to studying fashion. Port allegedly met all four of them on “gay dating websites,” such as popular mobile app Grindr. According to police, he then brought them back to his apartment before giving them GHB. It’s unclear whether he intended to kill his victims, or just drug them. If he did intend to kill them, it is also unclear what his motive was.

Even more strangely, at least two of the victims appear to have been connected. Kovari and Whitworth, who were killed just one month apart knew each other, and according to some sources, may have been in a relationship. Allegedly, when Whitworth was found, there was a note in his hand that claimed that he had killed Kovari. Why Port planted that note–possibly to send the police in the wrong direct–is yet another facet of this case that has yet to be solved.

Port appeared in court and was charged with the killings on Monday. He has been officially charged with four counts of murder, as well as four counts of administering a poison with intent to endanger life or inflict grievous bodily harm.

For many, this story may appear as a clear “I told you so” when it comes to the use of dating/hook up apps like Grindr or Tinder. That being said, while one should always use caution when meeting up with someone they’ve met through technological means, this is clearly a particularly tragic and terrifying isolated incident.

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Is the UK Home to a Grindr Serial Killer? appeared first on Law Street.

Many sites that are intended for adults, such as dating sites, come with a disclaimer that states, “You must be at least 18 years or older to use this site.” New Jersey native William F. Saponaro, Jr. was under the impression that warning was true when he logged into his Grindr account to meet available men. Instead Saponaro met up with a 13-year-old boy, had sex with him, and then was arrested for the act. Saponaro ended up being prosecuted for engaging in a sexual act with a minor.

According to the Washington Post, the mix up led him to sue the gay “hook up” app Grindr for negligence on the grounds that it was the ones who set him up with a minor in the first place. Despite Saponaro being 52 years old and presumably capable of discerning someone’s age, he claims that he was operating under the assumption that Grindr’s Terms of Service, which require its users to be at least 18 and older to use it services, were being enforced.

Unfortunately for Mr. Saponaro, the lawsuit was thrown out by a federal judge who determined that Grindr functions as an interactive computer service. As a result, it’s covered by the federal Communications Decency Act and therefore could not be found negligent in this case.

New Jersey Chief U.S. District Court Judge Jerome Simandle stated:

Holding interactive service providers liable for third-party communications would have chilling implications for free speech on the internet.

Even though Saponaro claims he was tricked, he’s hardly the first person to be duped when using an online dating site. MTV has captivated millions of viewers addressing that issue with its hit show “Catfish,” which profiles people all across the country who have had their hearts swindled by online impostors. Even more recently, popular matchmaking app Tinder was used by a team of creative marketers to catfish users at the music, film, and tech festival SXSW.

Robots have taken over @Tinder at #SXSW. http://t.co/bkrOk5w0brpic.twitter.com/VYyiBhEJrv

— Maxim (@MaximMag) March 16, 2015

According to Techcrunch.com, a company promoting the movie “Ex Machina” created the fake account, Ava, using a photo of the star of the movie. Ava’s profile was run by chatbots–computer programs designed to simulate intelligent conversations. These scripted robots sent her matches to an Instagram page (which has since been deleted) for the movie, revealing the whole thing was a sham.

Cases like these are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to examples of online impersonation. They should come as no surprise when our current digital landscape makes lying about your age, name, or even what you look like far too easy. For that reason users should be more cautious when looking for love online, because as seen in the case of Mr. Saponaro, you are solely responsible for verifying someone is who they say they are .

Alexis Evans

Alexis Evans is an Assistant Editor at Law Street and a Buckeye State native. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and a minor in Business from Ohio University. Contact Alexis at aevans@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Grindr Found Not Liable For Man’s Sexual Encounter With Minor appeared first on Law Street.

Love don’t cost a thing, or at least that’s how it used to be on the swipetastic mobile matchmaking app Tinder. But last week the popular location based dating service rolled out a new paid feature called Tinder Plus. The update has many accusing the company of being ageist.

With Plus, premium users are granted access to features called “Passport” and “Rewind.” If you’ve swiped through all the available singles in your area “Passport” allows you to change your location to connect with people anywhere around the world. Anyone who has ever regretted a swipe may also enjoy “Rewind,” which lets you re-do your last swipe. All in all these aren’t make-or-break features for the app, but their pricing is now under fire.

Tinder Plus users over the age of 30 will have to pay about $20 a month for the upgrade, but younger users under 30 will only have to pay about $10 a month. This gap has older singles protesting the app using #boycottTinder on Twitter, saying it’s discriminatory and arguing that they shouldn’t have to pay more for the same perks.

Tinder’s Vice President of Corporate Communications Rosette Pambakian, defended the age-related pricing telling TakePart via email that it actually benefits the company’s bottom line. She explained saying:

During our testing we’ve learned, not surprisingly, that younger users are just as excited about Tinder Plus, but are more budget constrained, and need a lower price to pull the trigger.

We’ve priced Tinder Plus based on a combination of factors, including what we’ve learned through our testing, and we’ve found that these price points were adopted very well by certain age demographics.

I’m not sure I buy that excuse. Pambakian elaborated by equating Tinder’s price tier with similar student discounts offered by the music-streaming service Spotify for premium services. But in my opinion it looks more like Tinder thinks being older and single makes you desperate, and as a result willing to cough up more money for swipes. Its not like they even need the extra cash, as valuations of the company range around $1 billion.

On a lighter note, if older people are discouraged from using Tinder, we wouldn’t end up with great videos like the following, where a 20-something year old young man sets his grandfather up on Tinder “dates.” Fair warning though, the video below, while adorable, contains some NSFW language:

In regards to demographics, Tinder co-founder Justin Mateen told the Guardian:

Early on, over 90% of our user base was aged between 18 and 24. Today, that number is about 51%. 13-17 year-olds are now over 7%, 25-32 year-olds are about 32%, 35-44 is about 6.5% and the remainder are older than 45.

Based on these figures it’s clear their core demographic is changing. But charging people for bonus features may not be the solution when it comes to legitimizing the “hookup app” as a real dating source. Only time will tell when it comes to whether or not Tinder execs will adjust its pricing due to public disapproval, or whether anyone will accuse them of ageism more seriously. My guess is this Tinder boycott won’t last long when people’s index fingers begin twitching from swipe withdrawal.

Alexis Evans

Alexis Evans is an Assistant Editor at Law Street and a Buckeye State native. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and a minor in Business from Ohio University. Contact Alexis at aevans@LawStreetMedia.com.

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If you’re directionally challenged, speed obsessed, or looking for the fastest route on your morning commute you’ve most likely heard of the mobile navigation app Waze. This Google-owned travel buddy uses crowdsourced data from its millions of users to provide the fastest alternative routes to your destination of choice. It easily surpasses Google’s own Maps app by giving drivers the option of creative avatars such as ninjas and zombies, and allowing Wazers to report accidents, blocked roads, speed cameras, and police presence. However, that last feature is angering police who are now pressuring Google to turn off the feature, calling it a “police stalker,” and claiming it endangers cops.

In a letter to Google obtained by the Los Angeles Times, LAPD Chief Charlie Beck uses the murders of NYPD officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu, who were killed by Waze user Ismaaiyl Brinsley, as a reason why the app should remove the feature. Chief Beck writes:

I am confident your company did not intend the Waze app to be a means to allow those who wish to commit crimes to use the unwitting Waze community as their lookouts for the location of police officers. While the app contains data that provides commuters with areas of construction, road hazards, it also provides police locations. I now know that Mr. Brinsley had been using the Waze app since early December to track the location of police.

But Chief Beck doesn’t have it quite right. Just to clarify, the app doesn’t actually “track” police. There is no GPS attached to cop cars beaconing their location as they drive around. Wazers who drive by traffic cops have the option to report which side of the road the police are on and if they’re either visible or hidden. When fellow drivers on the same route are near the reported cop, an icon pops up showing their approximate distance from you. As a user of the app myself I know first hand that spotting these cops is hard even with the extra help. If anything, the police reporting makes roads safer, forcing drivers to slow down.

Cops decry Waze traffic app as a “police stalker” http://t.co/vzIfGT0xSc by @dmkravets

— Ars Technica (@arstechnica) January 26, 2015

Brinsley had posted his plans to “give pigs wings” on social media, sharing a screenshot of his Waze app showing two police officers nearby. His actions were senseless and horrible but ultimately an unfortunate, unpredictable tragedy. Concluding that the app can be used as a tool for cop killers is like saying Tinder can be used as a tool for serial rapists.

As horrible as it may seem, it could be that cops are using this one isolated incident as a rallying cry to get rid of the feature that they never liked to begin with. Civilian owned radar detectors have been outlawed in some states, including Virginia and Washington D.C., making the Waze app a helpful alternative. It’s possible that their disapproval comes more from a financial standpoint than a safety one. The money that comes from traffic violations provides millions of dollars for state and local municipalities. Some stations even give their traffic cops ticket quotas to reach each month, and Waze threatens that.

So far Waze hasn’t made any moves to give into police pressure by removing the feature. I sincerely hope it continue to stand its ground because my zombie driving icon and I couldn’t imagine a commuting world without it.

Alexis Evans

Alexis Evans is an Assistant Editor at Law Street and a Buckeye State native. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and a minor in Business from Ohio University. Contact Alexis at aevans@LawStreetMedia.com.

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Is your love life nonexistent? Are you sick of unsolicited relationship questions from your coworkers, mail lady, or parents? Then put down the catnip and carton of chunky monkey and say hello to your new virtual man.

With the help of Invisible Boyfriend, $25 per month can get you all the fake relationship proof you need to fool any unsuspecting meddlers. For those singles who like the superficialness of Tinder but want to put in zero work, you can sign up for a profile with this app and pick from a selection of online photos to begin creating your perfect boyfriend or girlfriend. You can also pick his name (mine would be Aubrey Graham), age, and even craft his personality. Then users can text their new fake boyfriend, and get this–he texts back!

What’s probably the most shocking thing about this site is that the fake boyfriends are actually real guys! One Washington Post reporter actually found herself falling for her faux beau. According to her invisible boyfriend he’s not the only one she’s talking to. She explains:

The service’s texting operation is powered by CrowdSource, a St. Louis-based tech company that manages 200,000 remote, microtask-focused workers. When I send a text to the Ryan number saved in my phone, the message routes through Invisible Boyfriend, where it’s anonymized and assigned to some Amazon Turk or Fivrr freelancer. He (or she) gets a couple of cents to respond. He never sees my name or number, and he can’t really have anything like an actual conversation with me

This app is probably one of the saddest/creepiest things I’ve ever seen.  I applaud the developers for seeing a niche audience’s unmet need and finding a way to service it, but the whole concept is bound to backfire. What happens when the people you’re fooling want to meet this prince charming? Have fun explaining that one.

Alexis Evans

Alexis Evans is an Assistant Editor at Law Street and a Buckeye State native. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and a minor in Business from Ohio University. Contact Alexis at aevans@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post ‘Invisible Boyfriend’ May Be the Saddest Thing Ever appeared first on Law Street.

There are some pretty bizarre trends going around these days, and just one of the many is men posting photos of themselves with tigers on online dating sites. Why? To seem manly and brave via some kind of weird, caveman-esque mating ritual showing that they can take on any wild beast to save his damsel in distress. Alas, there is a new challenge to this practice — a New York law threatening to ban tiger selfies.

If men trying to prove their macho-manliness can no longer pose with the wild, striped felines, what will become of the Tumblr blog dedicated to featuring their photos? How will women find suitable partners on the reliable sites Tinder and OKCupid if they cannot assess he size of the tiger with which her potential mate cuddles?

State legislators in both houses have passed a bill banning people from posing for photos while touching tigers in New York State. This, along with ridding the world of large, sugary sodas, clearly top the priority list of New York politicians, as they should the lists of everyone.

Manhattan Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal explained that she introduced the legislation to increase safety at traveling circuses and fairs that allow the public to take photographs of themselves getting cozy with tigers. She did not point out, however, that there were only two big-cat attacks at traveling shows in New York over the last decade.

So no matter the size of the tiger with which you are posing, you will pay up to $500 for such a horrendous offense. If Tigger approaches you in New York, back away — yes, he LOOKS friendly, but it’s all a farce. Same with Raja — Jasmine better not consider a move to New York anytime soon.

Sorry, Jasmine, that’ll be $500

Lauren Schuster, a staffer for Rosenthal, accurately pointed out what their law is REALLY going to do: “We’re killing bros’ dreams and chances of being laid!” She couldn’t have foreseen the consequences of this law any better. Seriously, if a man can’t post pictures of himself with tigers, I can’t think of how he will score chicks. Buying them drinks just doesn’t suffice anymore.

Despite this attack on the prominent method through which men demonstrate their masculinity, there is still hope, at least according to Rosenthal. “They can still pose with bears and monkeys,” the assemblywoman said. “They just have to take big cats off their list.” Even if dating app users can still pose with monkeys and bears…come on, that’s not NEARLY as sexy and manly. It’s just not the same! How are Tinder users going to woo the love of their lives while cozying up next to a monkey? Will that be the next blog on Tumblr? Simian selfies? That is bound to attract an entirely different type of woman. I guess only time will tell.

No word on if lion selfies are acceptable…

—

Marisa Mostek (@MarisaJ44) loves globetrotting and writing, so she is living the dream by writing while living abroad in Japan and working as an English teacher. Marisa received her undergraduate degree from the University of Colorado in Boulder and a certificate in journalism from UCLA. Contact Marisa at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

Featured image courtesy of [Wilma Verburg via Wikimedia]

Marisa Mostek

Marisa Mostek loves globetrotting and writing, so she is living the dream by writing while living abroad in Japan and working as an English teacher. Marisa received her undergraduate degree from the University of Colorado in Boulder and a certificate in journalism from UCLA. Contact Marisa at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post No More Tiger Selfies, NYC Men Will Have to Snag Chicks Some Other Way appeared first on Law Street.

I recently discovered Tinder, the latest dating app craze, after a friend tweeted about her shame over having to create a Facebook account just to use the Tinder app.  At that time I was unaware of the app’s existence and decided to ask my significant other about it — which was a huge mistake.   At the mere mention of Tinder I was banned from even thinking about it. Fortunately for all of us, I feel that as a technology blogger it is my duty to investigate this new phenomena and give a report.

So what is Tinder? It’s a dating app, available on Apple and Android phones, that allows users to find people in their area whom they’re are attracted to and send them an alert. To do this, you have to log into Facebook and turn on your phone’s GPS.  As with many other apps, the use of Facebook is to verify a person’s identity, and the GPS allows the app to know your location. Based on your Facebook picture and information, Tinder creates your profile. To be clear, not all of your Facebook information is visible, only your picture, age, and first name. The creation of a profile allows your information to be seen and sent to other Tinder users in the area.

Next, the profiles of users nearby are sent to your phone and Tinder gives you the option to either like or pass. If you like the profile, an alert will be sent to that user. If someone likes your profile, then an alert will be sent to you. If both users like each other, then you probably guessed by now that the app connects them to each other. What happens after that is up to you.

There have been complaints of difficulties when using the app. Slow picture uploading, an inability to find Tinder users in one’s area, and issues logging in are just a few. Recently, Tinder upgraded the app to improve picture deleting time, correct minor crashes and issues, and hide common interests and friends from being viewed in a user’s profile. The issue of finding Tinder users nearby will probably correct itself as more people download the app. One of the most important new features is the photo zoom.  Why is photo zoom important, you ask?  Because this is Tinder, not Match.com!

In the dating world, who approaches a person because they appear to possess strong family values? Nobody, that’s who. This is what sets Tinder apart from other dating apps. Unlike with others, you won’t waste time finding out you’re compatible just to click on a picture that makes you change your mind. Tinder depends on a shared physical attraction between its users before it connects them — and this more closely resembles what happens in real life. I’m not sure if creating a dating app to resemble actual dating life was Tinder’s intention, but that’s not the only way people are using it.

In practice, Tinder is used as a hook-up app, or as a source of entertainment. On the hook-up side, users are logging on, swapping likes with people they’re attracted to and meeting them to… you know. I’m not saying that every person who uses Tinder is looking for this kind of situation, but it is happening. For entertainment, people like my friends are using Tinder to look at the awkward messages men send them and laugh. Others, the rare few, are actually committing to dates and using the app the way it was created to be used.

Tinder, like any dating app can be used to find great people in your area to create meaningful relationships with. Don’t get upset if someone approaches you in a way that seems brash and slightly shocking. Don’t be surprised if the person you’re messaging is being silly and using Tinder as a way to safely talk to strangers. For all the single adults out there, enjoy. For those adults in relationships, enjoy at your own risk. For all of you who are as intrigued as I was… check it out.

__

Teerah Goodrum (@AisleNotes), is a graduate student at Howard University with a concentration in Public Administration and Public Policy. Her time on Capitol Hill as a Science and Technology Legislative Assistant has given her insight into the tech community. In her spare time she enjoys visiting her favorite city, Seattle, and playing fantasy football.

Featured image courtesy of [Kenny Louie via Flickr] 

Teerah Goodrum

Teerah Goodrum is a Graduate of Howard University with a Masters degree in Public Administration and Public Policy. Her time on Capitol Hill as a Science and Technology Legislative Assistant has given her insight into the tech community. In her spare time she enjoys visiting her favorite city, Seattle, and playing fantasy football. Contact Teerah at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Want to Hook Up? Better Get on Tinder appeared first on Law Street.