Toxicity and hate speech proliferate on the internet, whether on Twitter (TWTR), Facebook (FB), Youtube (GOOG, GOOGL), Snapchat (SNAP) – or even on dating sites.
The female dating site (BMBL), which went public on Thursday, explicitly banned unsolicited and derogatory comments made about someone’s appearance, body shape, size or health.
“We are not afraid to take a stance that we believe is aligned with our values and our mission. Historically, we have banned weapons from our platform, and just two weeks ago we banned any form of shaming the body. This will not be tolerated on our platform, “Bumble founder and CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd told Yahoo Finance Live on Thursday.
Although Bumble has a zero tolerance policy for hate and toxicity, the company has also taken several public positions on what it considers to be harmful behavior. “This includes language that can be considered fat-phobic, desirable, racist, colorist, homophobic or transphobic,” said Bumble in a Jan. 27 announcement that such behavior could result in a warning or ban on recidivism or particularly damaging comments. .
Speaking to Yahoo Finance on Thursday, Herd said that Bumble prioritizes holding users accountable for their behavior. “In the real world, there are protective bars, laws, consequences for your behavior. We’re not trying, you know, to censor people, but we’re trying to tell you that if you want to behave badly, you can’t do it here” said Herd, who previously co-founded the dating site Tinder.
‘We look at the life cycle of women’
Founded in 2014 by Herd, Bumble now reaches 42 million monthly active users in 150 countries. Bumble’s main differentiator is that women need to take the first step in heterosexual matches.
Bumble currently has Bizz and BFF offers, aimed at users to meet their next business partner or best friend. Herd’s vision of expanding Bumble vertically and horizontally reflects his ambitions to grow up with women who may have joined the app to find a boyfriend or girlfriend.
“We look at the woman’s life cycle or the person’s relationship journey. When you think about all the different points of contact you have in your life that are really derived from your relationships, whether it’s the search for love or after that you find love, as you embark on the next chapter – engagement, marriage, fertility, everything that comes after those trips, “she told Yahoo Finance.
Herd has a personal mission to empower women and curb bad behavior, especially online. She sued her former employer, Tinder, for sexual harassment, eventually settling for an undisclosed amount.
And Herd, whose company is based in Austin, Texas, has vocally supported a Texas law that prohibits “cyber flashes” or sending unsolicited obscene photos. House Bill 2789 went into effect on September 1, 2019, making electronic transmission of sexually explicit material a Class C misdemeanor with a fine of up to $ 500 if the person who received it did not give consent. Herd said he wants to work with Congress to introduce similar legislation at the federal level.
Bumble’s shares closed 76% above its IPO price in its first two days as a publicly traded company.
Melody Hahm is a West Coast correspondent for Yahoo Finance, covering entrepreneurship, technology and culture. Follow her on twitter @melodyhahm and on LinkedIn.
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