Exclusive: Match Group hires first-ever head of safety and advocacy
- Sara Fischer, author ofAxios Media Trends
Photo: Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Match Group on Monday will announce that Tracey Breeden has been hired as its first-ever head of safety and social advocacy, a newly-created role.
Why it matters: The hire speaks to growing concerns over harassment, data privacy, social bias and minority safety on dating platforms. Match Group is one of the world's largest dating tech companies.
Details: In her new role, Breeden will oversee Match Group’s trust and safety policies and initiatives across all of its products, including Tinder, Hinge, OkCupid, Match, and Plenty of Fish.
- Breeden will be responsible for helping the product teams at each dating app invest in new safety features and technologies.
- She will work with a group of experts and advocates involved in the study and prevention of sexual assault, sex trafficking, abuse, harassment, and similar issues called the Match Group Advisory Council (MGAC).
- She will report to Gary Swidler, chief operating officer and chief financial officer at Match Group.
Prior to joining Match, Breeden was head of Uber’s women’s safety and gender-based violence operations.
- A former police officer and investigator of 15 years, Breeden was responsible for creating Uber’s first human trafficking prevention initiative and its first bystander awareness initiatives, among many other safety programs at the company.
The big picture: Match has pushed to get ahead of issues and regulatory pressure around sexual assault, violence and harassment on dating apps.
- Earlier this year, it became the first major tech company to publicly support the EARN IT Act, a bipartisan Senate bill that aims to reduce online child sexual exploitation by limiting tech platforms' liability protections.
- The company has implemented a number of features around safety and security in recent months, including a new date check-in feature and photo verification.
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