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Bumble Dating App Bans Images Of Guns, Donates To March For Our Lives
Bumble is banning all images that contain gun-related content from its platform. They expect "significant backlash" over the decision.
Bumble, a smartphone dating app, is responding to the growing gun control movement with a definitive response: they're banning all images that have a gun in them from their program. The decision comes in the wake of last month's deadly school shooting in Parkland, Florida, which has sparked a nationwide wave of activism.
Approximately 5,000 moderators will be scanning images used on the app and removing all gun-related content, according to The New York Times. (Bumble will not be banning images from users' linked Instagram accounts.) The policy will extend to other weaponry, including knives and other firearms. Only users who are part of the military or law enforcement will have images with firearms preserved. An appeals process will be created for gun hobbyists and enthusiasts.
Whitney Wolfe Herd, Bumble's founder and chief executive, spoke of creating a safe user community.
“We just want to create a community where people feel at ease, where they do not feel threatened, and we just don’t see guns fitting into that equation,” said Herd. “This is not super black and white. It’s a very tricky battle we’ve chosen to taken on, but I’d rather pursue this than just ignore it.”
“Compared to what’s going on with Facebook and Twitter, we take a very proactive approach,” Herd continued. “If I could police every other social platform in the world, I would.”
Bumble will also be donating $100,000 to the March for Our Lives demonstrations, a nationwide protest to be held on March 24.
Bumble is also expecting “significant backlash” from users who are staunch 2nd Amendment advocates, but Herd (who also plans on eventually editing out references to firearms in users' text descriptions) seems unconcerned.
“This is not a politically driven decision, nor a decision driven by hatred of people’s personal beliefs or choices,” Herd said. “Not everyone’s going to love us for it, but it’s the right thing to do.”
Bumble is one of many companies re-visiting their stance on firearms in the wake of the Florida shooting. Several companies have announced the end of their partnerships with the NRA, prompting backlash from conservative lawmakers who are now effectively figuring out ways to retaliate for this stance.
[Photo: Getty Images]
