Match Group, which owns Tinder, has announced that it will leave Russia by June 30 in order to uphold human rights. Match Group is just one of many Western companies that have left Russia since Moscow sent soldiers into Ukraine last year.
Match stated in an annual impact report released on Monday that “we are committed to defending human rights.” “Our brands are taking steps to limit access to their services in Russia and will fully exit the Russian market by June 30, 2023,” the company stated.
Shortly after Moscow started its military assault in Ukraine in February 2022, several foreign companies that had a few workers in Russia, like Spotify and Netflix, withdrew.
Match, whose brands include dating apps like Tinder, Hinge, and PlentyOfFish, hasn’t made many public statements on its activities in Russia, but in March 2022 it warned that this would hurt its European business.
The European police agency Europol said in September that dating apps were among the online platforms being “hijacked” by individuals for human trafficking purposes, drawing attention to the plight of Ukrainian refugees.