Ghosted By The Law: Accountability Gaps In India’s Online Dating Industry -
Ghosted By The Law: Accountability Gaps In India’s Online Dating Industry - A Doctrinal And Comparative Study Of Platform Liability, Data Protection And Criminal Remedies In The Indian Online Dating Industry
Parth Singh & Hetansh Chandiramani, B.A. LL.B., Thakur Ramnarayan College of Law
ABSTRACT
Online dating is no longer rare in India. Dating apps and matrimonial websites are now used by a large and growing number of Indians to find a partner. However, the law has not kept pace with this shift. Dating platforms are not named in any Indian law. Instead, they are governed by four general sets of rules: the intermediary provisions of the Information Technology Act, 2000; the due diligence duties in the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021; the consent-based duties of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023; and consumer protection law. These rules were not made with romance fraud, catfishing, sextortion or matching algorithms in mind. The resulting accountability gap is examined in this paper. The term refers to the gap between the harm that can be caused through a dating platform and the liability that is actually placed on it. The laws that govern these platforms are traced. The criminal provisions that can be used by a victim after the harm are listed. The court- made rule of safe harbour, under which platforms are protected from liability for the acts of their users, is also studied. This framework is then tested against National Crime Records Bureau data, two Delhi police cases reported in the national press, and the rules followed in the United States and the United Kingdom. It is concluded that a dating app is treated in India like any other website that carries user content. But the product is different. It is built to bring strangers together in person on the basis of a profile that has never been checked. Three objections to reform are also answered. Five practical reforms are then proposed: a due diligence code for dating platforms, mandatory safety disclosures based on the Texas model, a dedicated grievance and compensation system, penalties linked to platform revenue and public legal awareness campaigns. Through these reforms, the gap can be closed without dating platforms being turned into surveillance systems.
Keywords: Online Dating, Intermediary Liability, Information Technology Act 2000, Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023, Safe Harbour, Catfishing, Sextortion, Consumer Protection, Platform Accountability, Data Protection.
