In this case, the company behind the fake dating websites made a commitment, which ACM has accepted because it will offer consumers the best outcome. ACM has various regulatory tools at its disposal to take enforcement action against companies that violate the rules. As part of this investigation, ACM also conducted dawn raids at companies running these websites. The commitment is not without obligationsĪCM launched the investigation into dating websites using fake profiles in part because of reports in Dutch national media, and reports filed with ACM’s consumer information portal ConsuWijzer. Read this ConsuWijzer article (in Dutch) to find out how affected consumers are able to get financial compensation. The period is restricted to the period in which ACM conducted its investigation into the operations of these 17 websites: Harmed consumers will be financially compensatedĬonsumers who used the following websites between Jand Apwill be financially compensated. Since you had to pay for each message, consumers lost a lot of money (in some cases even thousands of euros) without ever getting what they had expected: an actual date or real interaction with the individual of their choice.
They tempted users to hold long conversations (often adult conversations). The chat conversations were held with ‘chat operators’ who pretended to be the individuals in these fake profiles. However, these individuals do not exist, since fake profiles are used. The business model of these fake dating sites consists of having consumers send as many messages as possible to the individuals of their choice. Doing so is important for consumer confidence in the online world.” Chatting with an operator but never a date From now on, these websites will inform their users clearly about what they offer. Since users have been misled, it is only fair that they are financially compensated. The dating websites have made a commitment to ACM to inform users more clearly about their methods.Ĭateautje Hijmans van den Bergh, Member of the Board of ACM, explains: “Users of these websites were tempted by fake profiles to hold long conversations, not with the person of their choice, but with a chat operator. They did not know that they were paying to chat with ‘chat operators’. Consumers were not sufficiently informed about this practice. However, this was impossible because the websites used fake profiles.
The company has reserved over 9 million euros for these compensations.Ĭonsumers paid a lot of money in order to get in touch with the individuals that were presented in these profiles. This commitment covers approximately 37,000 individuals who have been harmed. The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) and the company behind these websites, The Right Link B.V, have agreed on a commitment. Consumers that have been misled by fake profiles on dating websites will receive financial compensation.
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