The Dating app Bumble has temporarily disabled a feature that allowed users to filter potential matches based on their political leanings, the service has announced.
The feature allows users to classify and filter matches with options such as “Apolitical,” “Moderate,” “Liberal,” and “Conservative.” In a statement given to Mashable, Bumble said it had temporarily removed the feature in the US to “prevent misuse and abuse.”
When did this happen?
The Change happened after Bumble users reported seeing individuals on the app who appeared to have participated in the riots at the Capitol building last week.
On January 7th, Twitter user Alia Awadallah reported noticing “dozens” of men on dating apps that appeared to be in Washington, DC, on the day of the riots. They recommended taking screenshots of these profiles and presenting this as evidence to the FBI following its call for information.
One user reported getting more attention on Bumble after posting pictures of himself at the Capitol. Speaking to Bloomberg, Fellows said he had entered the Capitol building with the mob. The person even smoked a joint in the office of a US Senator. Fellows boasted that his profile on Bumble was “blowing up” after posting pictures from the Capitol.
Bumble said its service prohibits content that “encourages any illegal activity”. They would also cooperate with law enforcement concerning the profiles. Source: Mashable.
“On January 6, we immediately ensured that our hate speech scanning and protocols addressed the attack on the U.S. Capitol and began removing any insurrection-related content from our platform.”
“If we see anything that would suggest someone has or is in the process of committing a potentially criminal act we will take appropriate steps with law enforcement”. – a Spokesperson said.
The FBI reported earlier this week that it has received over 100,000 pieces of digital evidence after the attack on the US Capitol.
Also read: Covid-19 Symptoms can last for 6 Months: Study Finds
