The Australian Government's held talks with representatives from some of the world’s biggest dating apps, to addressing worrying rates of sexual violence.
While no significant changes were confirmed, Communications Minister Michelle Rowland said, “dating apps need to do better.”
Bosses from Tinder, Bumble and Grindr were part of the roundtable discussion held in Sydney today.
She confirmed background checks for users were being considered, but said she wished to consult with people who had lived experience before making a decision.
"There’s no one law that is going to fix this issue," she said.
"As part of this, the commonwealth will seek more detailed information from dating services to inform consideration on what further actions are needed to lift standards."
Background checks are being considered for users. (Source: 1News)
It comes after more than 72% of respondents in a criminology survey last year said they had experienced dating app sexual violence.
Before the meeting a spokesperson for Match Group, Tinder's parent company, said, "We believe everyone has the right to date freely and safely and it's the reason we are committed to helping make dating safer around the world, while supporting all survivors of sexual assault or domestic violence".
"We look forward to continuing partnering and collaborating with safety experts and local authorities that support our ongoing efforts to promote and enhance safety across our platform."
Netsafe's chief online safety officer, Sean Lyons, told Breakfast there are already laws in Aotearoa like the Harmful Digital Communications Act in place to help protect people online, it wasn’t perfect.
"[When] you go from offline to online and then it becomes a slightly different story so I think there's more we can do," he said.
It comes just days after New South Wales announced a 12-month trial which will allow people to ask police if their partner has a criminal conviction, but only if they provide a statutory declaration.
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