ODDA Launches Consumer Safety Panel To Shape Dating App Standards

The Online Dating and Discovery Association (ODDA) has launched a Consumer Safety Panel to give dating app users and people affected by romance fraud a role in shaping industry safety standards. Announced at the association’s annual conference in London on October 8, the panel will advise ODDA member companies and help inform the group’s standards, research and policy positions.

The panel is expected to include 12 to 16 people, among them dating app users, survivors of fraud and abuse, independent experts and consumer advocates. ODDA members will be able to consult the group about proposed safety features and policies. The association says feedback will also feed into its wider work on industry standards, research and policy.

Founding members named by ODDA include Becky Holmes, a romance fraud expert and author; Olivier Kraft, a financial crime specialist; LGBT+ activist Jamie Love; and author Melanie Graham. The panel will be co-facilitated by ODDA and Anna Rowe, co-founder of LoveSaid, a charity that supports victims of romance fraud.

ODDA chief executive Simon Newman said the association wanted people who use dating services, and those harmed through them, to contribute to the standards intended to protect users. The group is due to meet for the first time in the coming weeks and will agree on an initial project. ODDA has not identified that project or named the safety topics the panel will address first.

Users Gain a Role in Safety Policy

The panel creates a formal route for people with direct experience of dating services and romance fraud to advise an industry association and its members. Their input could help companies examine how proposed safety features and policies work for users, including people who have experienced abuse or fraud. The announcement establishes a consultation process, but it does not itself set new rules or require companies to adopt the panel’s recommendations.

ODDA’s standards and policy positions can shape how its member companies approach safety, while the panel’s advice may bring user experience into discussions that otherwise could be led mainly by companies and technical specialists. The practical effect will depend on what the group prioritises, how it gathers and weighs feedback, and whether members act on its advice. Those details have not yet been announced.

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How ODDA Plans to Use Feedback

ODDA represents companies in the online dating and social discovery sectors. The new panel is intended to connect a range of perspectives—users, survivors, specialists and advocates—with the association’s work on industry standards, research and policy. Member companies will be able to consult the panel on safety features and policies, while its feedback is also intended to inform ODDA’s broader positions.

The initiative is being introduced as an advisory and consultation body. The information released so far does not describe it as a regulator, nor does it say the panel can compel companies to change products or practices. Its composition and first meeting are the initial steps; the planned work and the route from advice to any changes remain to be set out.

“Those standards are stronger when the people they protect help write them.”

— Simon Newman, ODDA chief executive

First Priorities Still Undecided

ODDA has not said which safety issues the panel will address first, what its initial project will involve, or when it will publish recommendations. The association has also not specified how often the panel will meet, how it will select or replace members, or how it will handle differences of opinion among users, experts and companies.

It is also unclear whether ODDA members will be expected to respond publicly to the panel’s advice or explain when they choose not to adopt it. No new industry rule or product change was announced alongside the panel. The initiative’s concrete impact will depend on its eventual priorities and how member companies use its feedback.

Panel to Choose Its First Project

The panel is expected to hold its first meeting in the coming weeks and agree on an initial project. ODDA has not provided a date for the meeting or set a timetable for publishing the panel’s work. Further details about its priorities, consultation process and recommendations are likely to clarify how the advisory group will operate.

Readers will be able to judge the initiative’s reach as ODDA and its member companies disclose what the panel advises and whether those discussions lead to changes in safety policies, features, research or industry standards. For now, the confirmed development is the creation of the panel and its planned role—not a specific new safety measure.

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Key Questions

What is ODDA’s Consumer Safety Panel?

It is an advisory group launched by the Online Dating and Discovery Association to bring dating app users, survivors, independent experts and consumer advocates into discussions about safety.

Who will be on the panel?

ODDA expects the panel to have 12 to 16 members. Named founding members include Becky Holmes, Olivier Kraft, Jamie Love and Melanie Graham. It will be co-facilitated by ODDA and Anna Rowe of LoveSaid.

Can the panel require dating apps to change their policies?

The announcement describes the panel as a source of advice and feedback. It does not say the group has authority to require member companies to make changes.

What safety issue will the panel address first?

ODDA has not announced its first topic. The panel is expected to agree on an initial project at its first meeting in the coming weeks.

When will the panel meet?

ODDA said the first meeting will take place in the coming weeks but has not announced a specific date.

Source: rss