A Tasmanian man has lost a discrimination claim and subsequent appeal against the dating apps Tinder and Hinge, which banned him because he was a convicted child sex offender.
Child safety advocate Kathryn Fordyce has applauded the rulings and the bans imposed by the dating apps, which she says have been used by paedophiles to target children.
Alec McGeary was sentenced in the Supreme Court of Tasmania in 2021 for federal crimes of accessing and possessing “particularly grave and disturbing” child abuse material.
In sentencing, Acting Justice David Porter placed McGeary on the sex offender register on December 7, 2021.
Discrimination complaint made after apps banning
During that time, McGeary created dating profiles on the Tinder and Hinge apps, which are both owned by the Match Group company, but was subsequently banned from both.
In September 2024, he made a complaint to the Anti-Discrimination Commissioner (ADC), claiming the platforms had discriminated against him “on the basis of an irrelevant criminal record”.
The ADC ruled against him, a finding upheld after an appeal to the Tasmanian Civil & Administrative Tribunal (TASCAT).
Kathryn Fordyce says dating apps are used to target children. (ABC News: Craig Heerey)
In his ruling, published earlier this month, TASCAT panellist Rober Winter noted that McGeary’s criminal record was relevant as both dating platforms did not allow people who have been convicted of sex crimes to create accounts.
“It is further stated that use of the respective services of Hinge and Tinder is prohibited unless ‘you are not required to register as a sex offender with any state, federal or local offender registry,'” Mr Winter said.
“On any assessment of [McGeary’s] conviction, these were sex crimes, and at the time of his banning from Hinge and Tinder in the September period of 2024 his name remained on the Community Protection Offenders Register.“
Mr Winter also referred to research by the Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC) “about how online dating platforms are being exploited by online predators to facilitate child exploitation and abuse”.
He said this was noted in the ADC ruling and “an important consideration”.
Dating app use by predators
Ms Fordyce, chief executive of sexual assault support service Laurel House, welcomed the rulings.
She also noted research that showed sexual predators had targeted children using online dating platforms.
A 2024 study published by the AIC noted an “alarming rise” in the number of dating app users reporting child sexual exploitation and abuse, from fewer than five reports per month in 2011 to more than 80 per month in 2021.
The ABC is not suggesting McGeary was using the platforms to target children.
Ms Fordyce said dating apps had been used by offenders to groom parents and carers for access to children, and that children were also known to access those apps.
“Ultimately, it’s incumbent on the dating apps to be doing something about that,” Ms Fordyce said.
She said it was “a really positive sign” that users with sex crime convictions were being banned from the platforms, and that Tasmania’s legal bodies were responding appropriately.
“Being able to see that the system is working to protect children and other groups … is really positive.“
Hundreds of files of serious abuse material found
McGeary was 20 years old and living in New South Wales in May 2020 when police searched his home and found several devices containing child sex abuse imagery.
In December 2021, Acting Justice Porter said four mobile phones and a hard drive were found containing a total of 1,224 files.
About a quarter of those were in the two most severe categories of the abuse material classification system used by authorities.
Acting Justice David Porter placed McGeary on the sex offender register on December 7, 2021. (ABC News: Luke Bowden)
The judge said some videos included the abuse of babies and toddlers.
“I have had the misfortune of being obliged to look at representative still image samples of the material,” Acting Justice Porter said.
“Although the overall number of items is not as large as in many that come before the courts, which may involve tens of thousands, the nature of about a quarter of this is particularly grave and disturbing.
“Even images and videos in the lowest category can be viewed as offensive and depraved.“
The judge said McGeary was a gay man and had been sent child abuse material by another man he had met online while living in Sydney.
McGeary moved home to Tasmania after his arrest, and he was sentenced to a six-month home detention order and had his name recorded on the sex offender register for three years.
Tinder says it takes ‘appropriate action’
In the TASCAT ruling, Mr Winter noted Match Group did not respond when asked whether the company would like to be involved in the review of McGeary’s case.
The ABC approached both Tinder and Hinge for comment.
In a statement, a Tinder spokesperson said: “Tinder takes appropriate actions on profiles that are in violation of its community guidelines and terms of use.
“Tinder uses a combination of AI and human moderation to detect violations.
“If a user contacts us to report any bad online or offline behaviour, our team carefully reviews the report and takes the necessary action to remove any inappropriate profile from our platform.”
Hinge did not provide an on-the-record response to questions.
