Penalty Amount
$650,000
The New Jersey Attorney General and Division of Consumer Affairs announced that Match Group, Inc. will pay $650,000 and change its business practices to settle allegations that it misrepresented or failed to disclose its criminal background screening policies and practices to New Jersey users, violating the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act and the Internet Dating Safety Act. Under a Consent Order, Match must accurately represent its screening policies, notify existing New Jersey members of updated disclosures within 150 days, and post clear and conspicuous disclosures and safety notifications about the limitations of criminal background screenings.
MGI will pay $650,000 to the State. Under the Consent Order, MGI must comply with the CFA by accurately representing to New Jersey members the criminal background screening policies and practices of its affiliates. Within 150 days of the filing of the Order, MGI Affiliates that perform criminal background screenings must send an email or issue a pop-up notification to all existing New Jersey members informing them of updates to the screening disclosure. Those affiliates must clearly and conspicuously disclose, in bold letters and at least 12-point type: the means and methods used to conduct screenings; whether and how often screening information is updated; whether members identified as having convictions (including registrable sex offenders) may access the service; and what crimes disqualify a member. Affiliates must also include safety notifications on their sites regarding the limitations of criminal background screenings, including that screenings are not foolproof, criminals may circumvent search technology, not all records are public or up to date, only publicly available convictions are included, and foreign convictions are not covered.
In-house legal teams—particularly at dating, social networking, and marketplace platforms—should review user-facing terms of service, safety disclosures, and marketing materials for accuracy of any representations about criminal background screening, member verification, or safety measures, since misrepresenting or failing to disclose such policies triggered consumer fraud liability here. Vendor agreements with third-party background-check and screening providers should be checked for data accuracy warranties, commitments on how often screening data is updated, coverage limitations (e.g., public records only, foreign convictions excluded), and indemnification for inaccurate results. Companies operating multiple brands or affiliate platforms should ensure their intercompany and platform agreements require consistent, compliant disclosures across all properties, and should build user-notification obligations into their policies so that when screening practices change, existing members are notified within a defined timeframe (here, 150 days).
Entity
Match Group, Inc.
Industry
Social MediaOfficial Press Release
https://www.njoag.gov/ag-davenport-match-inc-to-pay-650000-and-change-public-disclosures-to-resolve-allegations-its-internet-dating-services-misrepresented-criminal-background-screening-policies/
2026 0901 Match Group Inc
http://www.njoag.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/2026-0901_Match-Group-Inc.pdf
New Jersey Attorney General Enforcement Page
https://www.njoag.gov/about/divisions-and-offices/division-of-consumer-affairs/
"Match Group, Inc."
"will pay $650,000"
"New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act"
"Internet Dating Safety Act"
"misrepresenting or failing to disclose its criminal background screening policies and practices to its New Jersey users"
"For Immediate Release: September 1, 2026"
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$400.0M
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