Kasaragod: The assault of a 16-year-old boy over two years by men he met on LGBTQ dating app Grindr has exposed a major 'loophole' in India's online safety regime: dating and networking apps here rely almost entirely on self-declared age, with little real verification. In contrast, countries such as France have already introduced strict laws to shield children from online risks like cyberbullying and predatory abuse.

Police in Kasaragod and Kannur have arrested 10 men -- including an education official, a Railway employee, a socio-religious leader, and business owners -- in connection with the case. Police in four districts are still pursuing six more accused. They were booked under various sections of the Protection of Children against Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

"This is the first time in Kerala that a child has been assaulted after being lured through a dating app… He was assaulted in four districts," said Kasaragod District Police Chief B V Vijaya Bharath Reddy.

The boy had been targeted since the age of 14 by men who did not know one another, said the officer. "He declared himself an adult to access the app. That's a loophole. At that age, there is no sufficient understanding or maturity," Reddy said.

He said that apps such as Grindr, Instagram, Snapchat, and Tinder have been used for extortion in Kerala. "People connect on these apps and then meet offline. Victims are coerced into taking nude photos, which are later used to blackmail them," he said and added that women, children, and men have all been targeted by extortionists.

The Kasaragod case, he said, highlights the need to introduce strict KYC (know your customer) rules for social networking apps. "It is a policy decision. After we investigate this case, we will submit a set of recommendations (to the government)," he said.

Reddy said the boy had found Grindr through a simple Google search while exploring his identity. The men found the boy through the app.

The District Police Chief said that in many countries, social networking apps strengthened age verification after new laws were passed, and in some countries, lawsuits are pending demanding stricter safeguards.

Japan was one of the first countries to require real-time face verification on dating apps, with Tinder introducing it there as early as 2019.

In the UK, the Online Safety Act compels platforms such as Tinder, Bumble, Hinge, and Grindr to adopt stronger age checks, with many using third-party tools for document and selfie verification.

In France, a 2023 law mandates that social media platforms verify users' ages and obtain parental consent for those under 15. For adult websites, visitors must prove they are over 18 through a "double-anonymity" system: users share their ID with a third-party service provider, which confirms their age to the site. The adult site never sees the person's identity, and the third party never sees which site the person is visiting. This way, minors are blocked while users' privacy is protected.

In 2024, Tinder rolled out ID and photo verification in countries including the UK, the US, Brazil, Mexico, and Australia. Users upload government IDs and record a video selfie, which is matched against both their ID and profile photos. Verified users receive a badge. The feature is now being expanded to France, Germany, Italy, and Spain.

Bumble, where women make the first move in heterosexual matches, also offers biometric ID verification through Veriff. Users upload an ID (passport or licence) and a selfie. Users can filter for verified profiles. The feature is available in 11 countries, including the US and UK.

In India, however, age verification on dating and social networking apps is still based on self-declaration, with no requirement to upload documents at sign-up.

The Union government, however, has acted in the matrimonial space. In June 2016, the erstwhile Ministry of Communications and Information Technology issued an advisory requiring matrimonial websites to verify users' identity and intent to marry, and store their IP addresses for one year.

Many matrimonial sites give users the option to verify their identity by uploading an ID, and provide contact numbers of grievance officers."

However, some Reddit users have complained that "verified" tags often lack rigorous document checks, suggesting partial or superficial compliance.

But no such guidelines or laws exist for dating and networking apps, despite their widespread use among young people.

After the Kasaragod case came to light, Grindr suspended the boy’s account, said the district police chief. But the incident, as he noted, raises a larger "policy" question: should India move beyond self-declaration to mandatory ID checks on dating and networking apps, as several other countries have already done, to better protect children?

But for now, Reddy urged parents to activate parental controls on their children's phones to block the installation of apps restricted to 18 and above, and regulate screen time. He also advised parents and teachers to keep children's social media profiles private and remain vigilant, noting that with new technologies like AI, images can be easily exploited.