Wah!Banana and Tinder thrust into spotlight post Lev Panfilov's rape conviction

Last Friday, Lev Panfilov, former actor at a local comedy channel was found guilty of raping a woman he met on a dating app. Panfilov was convicted by a High Court judge on all four charges of rape, sexual assault of penetration and molest. The case was picked up by media, with many identifying Panfilov as the former actor of Wah!Banana, and revealing that Tinder was the dating app he had used to initially connect with his victim.

According to news reports, the occurrence of the rape took place in January 2021. Meanwhile, Wah!Banana confirmed to MARKETING-INTERACTIVE that Panfilov was a former employee who left the company in March 2021.

The statement added: "As he is no longer affiliated with us, we are unable to comment on matters relating to him or the case. We have noted that some media reports have referenced our company in relation to this case. We do not understand the relevance and respectfully request that our brand not be associated with this matter unless there is consistency in mentioning both former and current employers in such reports."

Wah!Banana declined to comment on further questions from MARKETING-INTERACTIVE. 

Don't miss: Law Society distances from VP after rape victim comments on LinkedIn cause outcry 

Similarly, Tinder has been pulled to the center of the case too. When MARKETING-INTERACTIVE reached out, Tinder said that safety is a vital topic and continues to be a priority in the work it does. However, it did not comment on MARKETING-INTERACTIVE's queries around how their brand has been affected and how they plan to handle situations such as this.

As for questions around safety, Tinder shared that safety has always been a priority where it has implemented features such as mutual consent and prohibited the sharing of photos or videos to prevent explicit content.

"Our safety center offers real-time tips, awareness, and educational resources," read the response to MARKETING-INTERACTIVE. It added that the company has developed tools such as photo and video verification, incognito mode, block contacts, and in-app video chat to give users more control and confidence.

Machine learning is also used to detect and remove harmful behaviour, while features such as 'Does this bother you?' and 'Are you sure?' intervene when messages may be inappropriate.

"Users can also share their date details with trusted contacts. All these tools aim to create a respectful, empowering, and secure dating experience for everyone," it explained.  Additionally, if a member reports bad online or offline behaviour, the team will carefully review the report and take necessary action to remove any inappropriate profile from its platform. 

"If a crime has been committed, we encourage members to report it to local law enforcement and our dedicated team will cooperate with law enforcement if they are contacted directly," added Tinder. 

Most recently, Singapore Law Society vice-president and council member Chia Boon Teck put out a statement on LinkedIn suggesting that Tinder is an app for casual sex and hook-ups. "Met on the dating app Tinder. What's Tinder well known for? It ain't no LinkedIn," said Chia. Chia's post received backlash from online users, following which the Law Society confirmed his resignation. 

"We thank Chia for his service and contributions during his tenure on council and wish him well in his future endeavours," said Law Society in a statement. In addition, Lisa Sam, president of the Law Society, formally asked Chia to step down from his position, saying his comments and views on rape were "unacceptable". 

This comes after the dating app unveiled a rebrand in 2023 to shift perceptions of it from a hook-up app to one where people can find their life partners. Central to the rebrand was a campaign celebrating key milestones of a new relationship such as leaving a toothbrush and buying furniture together amongst others. It was also targeted to Gen Zs who the app claimed are "resetting the rules of dating" with ambiguous terms such as "talking", "vibing" and "situationships". 

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