USA-explain Grindr-owner to be a national security risk

The U.S. Committee on foreign investment provides for the Chinese owner of the Dating App Grindr as a national security risk. The App stores the intimate Details of male users, about the result and partly the date of the most recent HIV testing. Grindr has made seems to be on the search for a new buyer. the Lea Deuber, Beijing

The Chinese game developer Beijing Kunlun Tech to think, according to the news Agency, Reuters on the sale of the popular Dating App Grindr. The company has since 2016, the majority of shares in the US company. Reason for possible sale is to be security concerns of the US Committee on foreign investment (CFIUS). This was communicated to the company from West Hollywood, that the possession constituted by Kunlun, a "national security risk" for the United States.

CFIUS is for the verification of foreign firms that want to buy American companies. The Agency had recently prevented many Deals with Chinese involvement, including the Acquisitions of the financial services company Moneygram and marketing platform Applovin. China accuses the USA, the acquisition bans were politically motivated, in order to increase the trade dispute to the pressure on Beijing. What are the exact allegations of the US-Committee are in this case, is unclear. CFIUS is not obliged to give reasons for its decisions. He explained that it is external to individual cases. In the past, the Committee has inserted several times, and even without Chinese participation in the Takeovers appeal, if the companies that managed sensitive data. For example, information that could be associated with the U.S. military or the intelligence services.

Grindr stores intimate Details of the men

founded in 2009, App, Grindr user claims to world's 27 million. It is particularly popular among homosexual and bisexual men. The application collects information such as the location, via the App, messages sent, and the date of the most recent HIV test and possible HIV-disease, if the user shares this information. In the past few months, many of the data were expressed by conservationists and politicians in the United States due to the Chinese owner concerned.

Kunlun had bought in 2016, first of all, for $ 93 million, the majority of Grindr and 2018, the remaining shares purchased. It didn't register the transactions with the U.S. Committee on foreign investment for an exam. In most cases, however, voluntary. The Committee will, after completion of the Acquisition, and only several months after the active is unusual. Last August, Kunlun had spoken of a possible IPO of Grindr. Now the Californian firm is said to have already commissioned the American investment Bank, Cowen, to search for possible buyers. If there are already interested parties is not known. The Beijing company has not responded to a request so far.

Beijing Kunlun Tech is one of the largest game developers in China. The group was involved in 2016, the Acquisition of the Norwegian search engine company Opera for $ 600 million through a consortium. The 2008 of Zhou Yahui, established companies, also the Chinese credit provider Qudian, and Xianlai Huyu, a provider of mobile games include, besides Grindr.