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Comment by throwawayinfo | Hacker News Reader

Eh... in some parts of the US there is still a stigma against being LGBT. Grindr being foreign owned means opening up the possibility of people (who aren't ready to come out) being blackmailed. And that's clearly a national security threat and different from wanting data profiles on everyone.

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In some ways it is kinda funny in a dark way, as our inability to accept people for how they are is a national security threat :).

Americans, especially the ones a foreign power would be interested in blackmailing, also travel. In some ~70 countries, homosexuality is a crime.

> that's clearly a national security threat and different from wanting data profiles on everyone.

What's the threat model here? Certainly ousting LGBT people is scummy, but I'm not sure I understand how it jeopardizes the security of the nation.

You could argue that the ability to blackmail government officials compromises national security, but lots of things in that "data profile" could be used for blackmail. I don't see a reason to break this issue out separately.

I would imagine that if someone is hiding some use of the Grindr app from their S/O, they can be blackmailed. It would be particularly evident due to the location and photo-based tenants of the service. That is exactly why they ask the questions they do on the counterintelligence polygraph

Right, but certainly the same applies for any app someone might use to cheat (Tinder, Facebook, etc). I don't understand why Grindr is in a class of its own.

Because it’s use implies Homosexuality, which may or may not be known by the SO. Most SO would forgive cheating with the opposite sex before cheating with the same sex I’d imagine. It’s an extra layer of uncertainty.

>> that's clearly a national security threat and different from wanting data profiles on everyone. > What's the threat model here? Certainly ousting LGBT people is scummy, but I'm not sure I understand how it jeopardizes the security of the nation.

Any kind of blackmail can be valuable, but one that is still illegal in many parts of the world is super valuable.

* Gay government employee travels on official business to one of the ~70 countries where homosexuality is illegal

* Chinese military operative threatens to turn them in to authorities if they don't cooperate

You could infer the sexuality of a large number of people on Reddit / Instagram / Facebook if you had their data, so the same risk is present there.

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