5 ms·

Key quote: > Even though it did not have any business relationship with OkCupid, the third-party data recipient asked the company to share large datasets of Ok

Key quote: > Even though it did not have any business relationship with OkCupid, the third-party data recipient asked the company to share large datasets of OkCupid user photos and related data with it because OkCupid’s founders were financial investors in the third party. OkCupid provided the third party with access to nearly three million OkCupid user photos as well as location and other information without placing any formal or contractual restrictions on how the information could be used, the FTC alleged. I wonder what is this third party that the complaint does not list by name?

ImJamal 7mo ago
Just guessing, but the third party company did not break a law or go against their privacy policy. Reuters says it is "Clarifai" if you wanted to know. https://www.reuters.com/world/match-group-settles-us-ftc-claims-it-illegally-shared-okcupid-user-data-2026-03-30 https://www.reuters.com/world/match-group-settles-us-ftc-cla...
- rose-knuckle17 7mo ago
  no. but it seems possible, or even likely, that they used the pictures to train targeting for military drones (think Project Insight from Captain America:Winter Soldier). I'm not sure privacy violations are the biggest concern here.
  - ImJamal 7mo ago
    Maybe privacy concerns aren't your biggest concerns, but they are for the FTC for a case like this.
    - deleted 7mo ago
      [deleted]
  - alephnerd 7mo ago
    > seems possible, or even likely, that they used the pictures to train targeting for military drones Clarifai's usecase is around unstructured image data search which is fairly useful in cleansing and less so in targeting. More fundamentally, almost the entire tech industry touched Project Maven - it was massive. And that was just 1 of multiple initiatives led by the DoD. And most other great and regional powers like China, Russia, Japan, France, India, South Korea, Turkiye, etc have all been working on similar projects for a decade. It doesn't matter what country you live in - no nation will leave capabilities on the table. Heck, a highschooler with knowledge of OpenCV and the Google Earth API can build targeting capabilities similar to what superpowers had a decade ago. It's 2026 - the Ukraine War started in 2014; the Syrian, Libyan, and Yemeni Civil Wars in 2011; the Congo War reignited in 2015; the Afghan War continued until 2022; the Myanmar Civil War reignited in 2021; etc - there has now been over a decade of constant development of dual use technologies in both conflicts and civilian applications. Technology has always had a military component - heck, much of the "civilian" technologies in the 1990s-2000s were refined and tested thanks to Gulf War 1 and the Yugoslav Wars. Or, framed in another manner - the capabilities disclosed as part of the Snowden Leaks in 2013 were already in production 20 years ago. It is 2026. There is a sense of starry-eyed idealism amongst a subset of techies who didn't seem to realize that technology has always been dual use.
CoastalCoder 7mo ago
I'm wondering if this means 3 million copyright violations that could be litigated in civil court.
- alsetmusic 7mo ago
  > I'm wondering if this means 3 million copyright violations that could be litigated in civil court. Outstanding observation! Class action suit in the making. Only lawyers get rich, but still could hurt the offenders financially.
  - RiverCrochet 7mo ago
    Look, I like the occasional $2 checks in the mail. For now, I can buy a candy bar with it.
    - busymom0 7mo ago
      Here in Canada, even a chocolate bar has now gone up to $3 at Walmart
      - hsbauauvhabzb 7mo ago
        Two for the price of three data breaches!
    - joering2 7mo ago
      I have a gift for you: https://openclassactions.com/ https://openclassactions.com/ You welcome :)
- Aurornis 7mo ago
  Nearly every app that accepts user-generated content includes an agreement that you give them a license to use that content. It's basically required for those apps to function. No platform would exist very long if users could upload content and then sue the platform for hosting it. The agreements usually include a clause about allowing them to sub-license it. So you still retain the copyright to the photos, but you can't sue them for using it.
hector_vasquez 7mo ago
The FTC article links to the federal complaint[0] which names the third-party data recipient as Clarifai, Inc. "In September 2014, the CEO of Clarifai, Inc. e-mailed one of OkCupid’s founders requesting that Humor Rainbow give Clarifai, Inc. (i.e., the Data Recipient) access to large datasets of OkCupid photos." [0] https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/ftc_gov/pdf/OkCupid-MatchComplaint.pdf https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/ftc_gov/pdf/OkCupid-MatchCo...
- realreality 7mo ago
  So, your dating photos were going to a government contractor involved with AI killer drone technology. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clarifai#Military_work https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clarifai#Military_work
  - ronsor 7mo ago
    > Their technology was used by Unilever, Ubisoft, BuzzFeed And apparently also your deodorant, Assassin's Creed, and tabloid rags as well. That's what I call variety.
  - hsbauauvhabzb 7mo ago
    Killing singles near you!
    - pfannkuchen 7mo ago
      Killing significant others to broaden the dating pool! Delivering value to existing users!
      - selimthegrim 7mo ago
        This is clearly the follow up to the dril tweet - you do not, in fact, have to hand it to them for figuring out how to monetize the enemy combatant guidelines
    - znpy 7mo ago

ImJamal 7mo ago

Just guessing, but the third party company did not break a law or go against their privacy policy. Reuters says it is "Clarifai" if you wanted to know. https://www.reuters.com/world/match-group-settles-us-ftc-claims-it-illegally-shared-okcupid-user-data-2026-03-30 https://www.reuters.com/world/match-group-settles-us-ftc-cla...

rose-knuckle17 7mo ago
no. but it seems possible, or even likely, that they used the pictures to train targeting for military drones (think Project Insight from Captain America:Winter Soldier). I'm not sure privacy violations are the biggest concern here.
- ImJamal 7mo ago
  Maybe privacy concerns aren't your biggest concerns, but they are for the FTC for a case like this.
  - deleted 7mo ago
    [deleted]
- alephnerd 7mo ago
  > seems possible, or even likely, that they used the pictures to train targeting for military drones Clarifai's usecase is around unstructured image data search which is fairly useful in cleansing and less so in targeting. More fundamentally, almost the entire tech industry touched Project Maven - it was massive. And that was just 1 of multiple initiatives led by the DoD. And most other great and regional powers like China, Russia, Japan, France, India, South Korea, Turkiye, etc have all been working on similar projects for a decade. It doesn't matter what country you live in - no nation will leave capabilities on the table. Heck, a highschooler with knowledge of OpenCV and the Google Earth API can build targeting capabilities similar to what superpowers had a decade ago. It's 2026 - the Ukraine War started in 2014; the Syrian, Libyan, and Yemeni Civil Wars in 2011; the Congo War reignited in 2015; the Afghan War continued until 2022; the Myanmar Civil War reignited in 2021; etc - there has now been over a decade of constant development of dual use technologies in both conflicts and civilian applications. Technology has always had a military component - heck, much of the "civilian" technologies in the 1990s-2000s were refined and tested thanks to Gulf War 1 and the Yugoslav Wars. Or, framed in another manner - the capabilities disclosed as part of the Snowden Leaks in 2013 were already in production 20 years ago. It is 2026. There is a sense of starry-eyed idealism amongst a subset of techies who didn't seem to realize that technology has always been dual use.

CoastalCoder 7mo ago

I'm wondering if this means 3 million copyright violations that could be litigated in civil court.

alsetmusic 7mo ago
> I'm wondering if this means 3 million copyright violations that could be litigated in civil court. Outstanding observation! Class action suit in the making. Only lawyers get rich, but still could hurt the offenders financially.
- RiverCrochet 7mo ago
  Look, I like the occasional $2 checks in the mail. For now, I can buy a candy bar with it.
  - busymom0 7mo ago
    Here in Canada, even a chocolate bar has now gone up to $3 at Walmart
    - hsbauauvhabzb 7mo ago
      Two for the price of three data breaches!
  - joering2 7mo ago
    I have a gift for you: https://openclassactions.com/ https://openclassactions.com/ You welcome :)
Aurornis 7mo ago
Nearly every app that accepts user-generated content includes an agreement that you give them a license to use that content. It's basically required for those apps to function. No platform would exist very long if users could upload content and then sue the platform for hosting it. The agreements usually include a clause about allowing them to sub-license it. So you still retain the copyright to the photos, but you can't sue them for using it.

hector_vasquez 7mo ago

The FTC article links to the federal complaint[0] which names the third-party data recipient as Clarifai, Inc. "In September 2014, the CEO of Clarifai, Inc. e-mailed one of OkCupid’s founders requesting that Humor Rainbow give Clarifai, Inc. (i.e., the Data Recipient) access to large datasets of OkCupid photos." [0] https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/ftc_gov/pdf/OkCupid-MatchComplaint.pdf https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/ftc_gov/pdf/OkCupid-MatchCo...

realreality 7mo ago
So, your dating photos were going to a government contractor involved with AI killer drone technology. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clarifai#Military_work https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clarifai#Military_work
- ronsor 7mo ago
  > Their technology was used by Unilever, Ubisoft, BuzzFeed And apparently also your deodorant, Assassin's Creed, and tabloid rags as well. That's what I call variety.
- hsbauauvhabzb 7mo ago
  Killing singles near you!
  - pfannkuchen 7mo ago
    Killing significant others to broaden the dating pool! Delivering value to existing users!
    - selimthegrim 7mo ago
      This is clearly the follow up to the dril tweet - you do not, in fact, have to hand it to them for figuring out how to monetize the enemy combatant guidelines
  - znpy 7mo ago