Appeals court decides to 'swipe left, and reverse' judge's decision to toss Tinder pricing suit
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Potential dates using the Tinder app can be rejected with a swipe to the left.
A California appeals court gave a nod to that method on Monday when it reinstated a discriminatory pricing suit against the popular dating app.
Tinder offers a premium “Tinder Plus” service that costs $19.99 a month for users age 30 or older, but only $9.99 or $14.99 for those who are younger.
Plaintiff Allan Candelore filed a would-be class action claiming the pricing discriminated based on age in violation of California’s civil rights and age discrimination laws. Tinder countered that the pricing structure was justified based on market testing showing younger users are more “budget constrained” and won’t pay at a higher price.
A trial judge had ruled for Tinder when it challenged the sufficiency of the complaint. The California Court of Appeal, Second Appellate Division, disagreed and reinstated the suit.
“Because nothing in the complaint suggests there is a strong public policy that justifies the alleged discriminatory pricing, the trial court erred in sustaining the demurrer,” the appeals court said. “Accordingly, we swipe left, and reverse.”
Forbes, the San Diego Union-Tribune and Tech Crunch are among the publications that covered the decision.
