Wizz, the 'Tinder for Kids,' Linked to Predator Cases — Congress Should Pass Child Safety Law

Wizz, the 'Tinder for Kids,' Linked to Predator Cases

Summary: The swipe-to-match app Wizz has been tied to multiple incidents in which minors met adults who later sexually abused them. Investigations and tests by advocacy groups and media outlets raise serious doubts about Wizz's age verification and moderation practices. Advocates say self-regulation has failed and urge Congress to pass targeted legislation to force meaningful platform safety.

Troubling Incidents

Over the past year, high-profile reports and legal complaints have described several disturbing cases. They include a 12-year-old girl who met an alleged 14-year-old match but was assaulted by an adult; an eighth grader groomed and abused by a 27-year-old man who used Wizz to find several underage victims; and an 11-year-old who was sexually assaulted after meeting a U.S. Marine on the platform. These reported incidents prompted renewed scrutiny of the app.

App Store Removal, Reinstatement, And Questionable Controls

A few years ago the National Center on Sexual Exploitation asked app stores to remove Wizz following widespread reports of exploitation. Google Play and the Apple App Store temporarily removed the app, and Wizz later returned with claimed safety upgrades. But subsequent reporting and testing exposed troubling gaps.

Investigations reported that a 52-year-old man was able to register as a 15-year-old, and that automated age checks flagged the profile but moderators approved it. Wizz disputed that account. Independent testing by an advocacy group found that a 28-year-old employee could create an account listed as a 16-year-old, suggesting age verification and moderation remain easily bypassed.

Why This Is Bigger Than One App

Wizz is part of a broader pattern in which platforms announce safety features under public pressure but fail to implement effective, enforceable protections. At a congressional hearing a high-profile whistleblower described how platforms often prioritize growth until regulators intervene. Independent research has also found many safety tools for minors do not work as claimed.

A Legislative Fix: The Kids Online Safety Act

Advocates point to the Kids Online Safety Act, a bipartisan bill that would impose a Duty of Care on platforms likely to be accessed by children. Under this standard, companies must take reasonable care to design products that reduce foreseeable risks to minors. The bill is intended to be narrowly tailored: it would not impose automatic liability when a child is harmed, only where a company failed to take reasonable preventative steps in its design and policies.

Proponents emphasize that the bill has been revised after consultations with diverse stakeholders to address concerns about censorship and free speech, and to define the harms covered clearly.

Call To Action

Given the repeated failures of voluntary safety measures, advocates including executives at the National Center on Sexual Exploitation argue that Congress must act. Passing legislation like the Kids Online Safety Act would create enforceable expectations for platform design and moderation, and provide a clearer path to hold companies accountable when they fail to protect minors.

Authors: Haley McNamara, Executive Director and Chief Strategy Officer, and Lily Moric, Communications and Campaigns Specialist at the National Center on Sexual Exploitation.