Digital Discrimination in Dating Apps and the Dutch Breeze case

TL;DR

This paper examines the legal and technical challenges of addressing algorithmic discrimination in dating apps, using the Dutch Breeze case as a focal point, and discusses potential solutions for fairer matching algorithms.

Contribution

It provides an in-depth analysis of the Breeze discrimination case, integrating legal and computer science perspectives, and explores strategies to mitigate ethnicity-based discrimination in dating app algorithms.

Findings

Breeze's algorithm was found to discriminate against dark-skinned users.

Legal analysis suggests certain discrimination may be unlawful under Dutch law.

Technical solutions for reducing algorithmic bias are discussed and evaluated.

Abstract

In 2023, the Netherlands Institute for Human Rights, the Dutch non-discrimination authority, decided that Breeze, a Dutch dating app, was justified in suspecting that their algorithm discriminated against dark-skinned users. Consequently, the Institute decided that Breeze must prevent this discrimination based on ethnicity. This paper analyses the decision and explores three questions.What are the main points of the Breeze decision? Is the discrimination based on ethnicity in Breeze's matching algorithm illegal? We also explore a more general question: how can dating apps mitigate or stop discrimination in their matching algorithms? We illustrate the legal and technical difficulties dating apps face in tackling discrimination and highlight some promising solutions. We analyse the Breeze decision in-depth, combining insights from computer science and law. We discuss the implications of this judgment for scholarship and practice in the field of fair and non-discriminatory machine learning.