Surveillance does not equal safety: Police, data and consent on dating apps

Abstract

As dating apps continue to receive pressure from civil society, media and governments to address a range of safety concerns, technology companies have developed and deployed a spate of new safety features. Taken together, these features rely upon increased surveillance and partnerships with both technology start-up companies and law enforcement agencies proposed as responses to sexual harassment and abuse. In this article, we draw on empirical accounts of app use – and popular media reporting – to problematise commonsense assumptions about dating apps, safety, technology, policing and surveillance. Where so-called safety features involve increased surveillance and techno-carceral solutionism, there is potential to make users less safe – particularly for app users who are marginalised or stigmatised on the basis of their race, sexuality, gender, health status, employment or disability. Instead of the impetus to ‘datafy’ consent by documenting evidence of sexual transactions, or to monitor users by sharing data with police, we argue that a more effective approach to safety must extend the notion of ‘consent culture’ to encompass a consent-based approach to collecting, storing, and sharing user data – including seeking consent from users about how and whether their data is sold, monetised or shared with third parties or law enforcement.