Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott Seeks to Stop Sale of Online Dating Service on Privacy Concerns

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott is seeking to stop the sale of an online dating service due to private customer information.

Abbott objected in federal bankruptcy court to the sale of online dating service True.com’s 43 million-member database, citing privacy concerns.

The database and website are owned by Plano-based True Beginnings, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection more than a year ago and is in the process of selling its assets.

“At a time when privacy is an issue of grave concern to so many, we are taking legal action to prevent an online dating service from selling more than 2 million Texans’ personal information without their consent,” said Abbott.

True Beginnings sought permission from the bankruptcy court to sell its assets, including the personal information, to a Canadian-based online dating service.

The company says that they plan to notify site members via email that their information has been sold, but does not ask for users to approve the sale of their information. Abbott weighed in on that plan.

“The proper course is for True.com and its bankruptcy trustee to seek the customers’ permission before selling their private information to a third party – and that’s exactly what our legal action asks the bankruptcy court to require before the case proceeds,” said Abbott.

Abbott’s legal filing asks the bankruptcy court to require the trustee to abide by the terms presented to customers when they signed up for the site. The objection will be heard in the Plano bankruptcy court, Eastern District of Texas, on October 25^th.