OPW -- Aug 28 -- Yahoo! Personals has settled Robert Anthony vs Yahoo Inc. (reported on by AP, and Reuters in Nov. '06). This is the date baiting case, you might recall, which Yahoo! Personals has vigorously denied from day one. Rather than draw things out, Yahoo has settled. In short: "Yahoo! does not believe it has done anything wrong and continues to deny all claims and allegations of wrongdoing asserted in the case, but came to an agreement with the Plaintiff to ensure it could focus on key priorities for the company."
Here's Yahoo!'s Statement and Settlement: Yahoo! denies the claims in the suit but agreed to pursue a settlement to avoid long litigation that likely would have interrupted our focus: building a great dating service. Our efforts to ensure a safe and secure environment are rigorous and are constantly improving:
- We set high standards through a code of conduct to which customers must agree and which requires that they be truthful;
- We invest in customer service and technology tools that help us identify and reject false profiles;
- We review all profile elements; and
- We review all complaints and respond to identified problems.
(a) Yahoo! will maintain the "Report a Complaint" link on the profile detail pages.
(b) Profiles that have been inactive for a period of 120 days will be rendered unsearchable.
(c) When a user cancels their subscription, a screen will be presented giving them the option to delete the profile, render it unsearchable or keep the profile active. If the user makes no selection, the profile will automatically be deactivated.
(d) Yahoo! will maintain mechanisms to detect duplicate photos, abusive language and the revealing of improper personal information.
(e) Additional Terms of Service will be updated to inform users that that they may see profiles or other content which they feel were created by third parties, contrary to obligations in the applicable terms of services, guidelines and code of conduct, for purposes other than dating, including spam and commercial profiles.
(f) Yahoo! will modify its Additional Terms of Service to include disclosures regarding searchable Yahoo!-created test profiles that may be used when necessary to ensure service quality. The modifications will disclose how searchable test profiles, if any, are designated so that they are readily identifiable to users.
Mark Brooks: All internet dating sites are susceptible to cheats. The upper echelon sites put many measures in place to filter out the negative elements. Yahoo is also awarding up to $35 back to paid subscribers (from
10/1/04-8/3/07) who submit a claims form. All such members are being
emailed. Here's a copy of the settlement.
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