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WASHINGTON (CN) — Members of Congress on Friday launched an investigation into male-only dating-review app TeaOnHer, which lawmakers claim encourages users to post nonconsensual and “seemingly illegal” content of women and even minors.
The House Oversight Committee probe comes as controversial “dating safety” apps have suffered significant data breaches — including one involving a women-focused platform which resulted in the publication of thousands of user photos and other information.
In a letter to Xavier Lampkin, founder of TeaOnHer developer Newville Media Corporation, Kentucky Representative James Comer and South Carolina Representative Nancy Mace said that the House oversight panel had evidence that the app contains “personal information, images and sexually explicit and abusive contend about women and minors” across the U.S.
“Given the concerning and seemingly illegal content found on TeaOnHer harassing, abusing, defaming and sexualizing women and minors, it appears that your application may be in violation of federal and state law,” the Republican lawmakers told Lampkin.
First published in the Apple App Store in August, TeaOnHer bills itself as a platform on which users can share dating experiences with women and exchange information. The service, which rocketed to the top of the App Store’s charts shortly after launch, gained notoriety as an apparent response to the Tea app — a similar, women-only platform which went viral on social media over the summer.
Both Tea and TeaOnHer were removed from the App Store this week amid complaints that users were posting personal information, including that of minors, on the platforms.
The congressional probe, though, focuses solely on TeaOnHer, which Comer and Mace argued was designed for male users to “anonymously post harmful content about women and prevent those women from accessing and reporting the content posted about them.” The lawmakers complained that TeaOnHer does not provide any mechanism for victims to remove content posted without their consent.
Comer and Mace also expressed concern about reports of data vulnerabilities in dating safety apps such as TeaOnHer. TechCrunch reported in August that the application had exposed the personal information of some of its users, including images of government IDs and selfies.
“If true, the Committee’s concerns extend to the vulnerability of the images and information associated with the women and minors who did not provide consent to have their information uploaded to your application,” the House lawmakers told Lampkin.
The Tea app faced a major data breach of its own over the summer, when hackers published tens of thousands of user selfies from the women-only platform, as well as content from posts, comments and direct messages.
Comer and Mace demanded that the TeaOnHer developer turn over all documents and communications related to “consent verification of individuals” whose images were posted on the app.
They also requested information about how the service prevents women and minors from accessing its content and how the platform handles content removal requests. The lawmakers gave Lampkin until Nov. 7, or roughly two weeks, to respond.
TeaOnHer did not return to requests for comment made via email and via direct messages on social media.
Reached via an email address listed under another app developed by Newville Media Corporation, Lampkin also did not respond to a request for comment. A separate email address associated with the Utah-based app developer appeared to be defunct.
The app’s official X account has been dormant for roughly a month, but it posted shortly after its August publication that Apple hadn’t allowed the platform to roll out an application update “due to so many women complaining, and false narratives.”
According to TeaOnHer’s terms of service, application users must be at least 18 years of age. “We do not knowingly collect information from users under 18 years of age,” the platform’s terms read. “TeaOnHer acts as a neutral platform and does not create, endorse or control user-generated content.”
The application’s terms also say that TeaOnHer does not prescreen content but does investigate and remove posts that violate its user agreement. The platform offers an online takedown form for content and says it reviews complaints within 24 hours.
Nonetheless, the app claims platform immunity under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, the controversial federal law that has long shielded social media companies from litigation over content created by its users. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have for years called for legislation to roll back Section 230, which they say would provide the government an avenue to crack down on the exploitation of minors.
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