ABC dating scam report aired man’s profile without consent: ACMA finding

The public broadcaster aired the details of a man’s dating app profile without his consent and has been found in breach of its Code of Practice.

The man’s dating profile was shown “fleetingly” and included an image of his face twice. Picture: AAP Image/David Gray

An ABC news report about online dating scams that repeatedly aired a man’s profile without his consent has been deemed an “intrusion” after the public broadcaster failed to ensure his privacy.

ABC News Hour aired a segment in May last year that showed the man’s dating profile “fleetingly” including an image of his face twice in the report, and also his name and age which allowed him to be identifiable.

The media regulator, the Australian Communications and Media Authority, on Thursday condemned the news report and chair Nerida O’Loughlin said airing someone’s personal details must be limited.

“Media intrusion into a person’s private life without consent must be justified to be in the public interest,” Ms O’Loughlin said.

“There is a clear public interest in reporting on online scamming, however there are limits to the type of personal information that should be disclosed in a news report.

“In this case, there was no justifiable reason to identify the person and the ABC did not undertake adequate measures to ensure their privacy.”

In the news report the ABC presenter interviewed the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s deputy chair Delia Rickard and the pair discussed issues with online dating app scams.

During the discussion it showed footage of a woman sitting down and scrolling through dating app images on her phone.

ACMA said while there was a clear public interest in reporting on online scamming, there were limits to the type of personal information that should be disclosed.

The complainant wrote to the ABC on May 11 last year and said: “At 5.49pm on the 11th May there was an article run on internet scammers using dating apps to con money from matches on online dating apps.

“My specific picture and profile was shown on National TV in the segment as a woman scrolled through the [dating app].

“This was noticed by my family (…) This has had a significant impact on my life. This is illegal use of my picture in a public domain that I was not consulted with before showing.”

The complainant later told the ABC that anyone who saw the news report could “clearly identify that it is me”.

The woman then matched with the complainant after scrolling through the app however the complainant said he had not been on the app for more than three years, but he failed to delete this profile.

The ABC was found to have breached the its Code of Practice and it had already removed the footage from its archives and said the media regulator’s finding would be made available to all ABC staff.