The Dating Apps Where Children Were Raped — And the Billionaire Family Still Profiting From Them

You've probably never heard of The Meet Group. But if your kids have a phone, you need to.

MeetMe and Skout are two of the most downloaded social and dating apps in the world — available for free on every app store. They require no ID verification, no age verification, and no background checks. Anyone can sign up in under a minute. And that's exactly the problem.

Part I: What Happened

In 2012, three children were sexually assaulted by adults who used the Skout app to pose as teenagers. All three predators found their victims through Skout's "teen community" feature — a section of the app specifically designed for minors.

The Victims — Skout App, 2012

A 12-year-old girl in California was raped by a 24-year-old man who posed as a teenager on the app.

A 15-year-old girl in Ohio was raped by a 37-year-old man she met through the teen community.

A 13-year-old boy in Wisconsin was sexually assaulted by a 21-year-old man who targeted him on the platform.

The company's response: they shut down the teen section for three months, then quietly reopened it.

In 2014, the San Francisco City Attorney sued MeetMe, alleging the app "enables sexual predators and child stalkers" by broadcasting the real-time GPS location of children as young as 13. Dozens of children had already been victimized by predators who found them through the app.

The case settled for $200,000 — pocket change for a company making hundreds of millions a year.

Part II: Follow the Money

Here's the part most people don't know.

After those assaults, MeetMe didn't fix its safety problems. Instead, it went on a shopping spree — acquiring the very app linked to child rapes, along with several others, building a dating app empire worth billions.

Acquisition Timeline

• 2012 — 3 Children Sexually Assaulted via Skout. Adults posing as teens use the "teen community" feature to assault children across three states.
• 2014 — San Francisco Sues MeetMe. Settled for $200,000.
• 2016 — MeetMe Acquires Skout for $55 Million — the app linked to child sexual assaults.
• 2017 — Acquires Tagged & Hi5 for $60 Million. Rebrands to "The Meet Group."
• 2017 — Acquires Lovoo for $70 Million. Expands into European markets.
• 2020 — ProSiebenSat.1 and General Atlantic acquire The Meet Group for ~$500 Million. Merged with Parship Group to form ParshipMeet Group.
• 2026 — Still operating. Still no real safety measures. MeetMe holds a 1.2/5 Trustpilot rating.

A multi-billion-dollar Italian media dynasty profits from apps where children have been sexually assaulted, and the total penalty paid was $200,000 — that's 0.046% of one year's revenue.

Part III: The Corporate Structure — By Design

And who ultimately owns all of this?

ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE — one of Europe's largest media companies — is controlled by MediaForEurope (MFE), which holds a 75.6% stake. MFE is the media empire built by the late Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, now run by his heirs.

The Ownership Chain

Berlusconi Family (Italy) → via MediaForEurope (MFE) — 75.6% controlling stake

ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE (Germany — Munich) → 7,200 employees — TV, media, commerce

ParshipMeet Group (Germany — Hamburg) → Valued at $4.1 billion — EUR 434M revenue (2023)

The Meet Group (United States — Pennsylvania) → 6 dating apps — MeetMe, Skout, Tagged, Hi5, Lovoo, GROWLr

MeetMe & Skout (Available worldwide) → No age verification — No ID checks — No background checks

The ownership chain is deliberately complex. When questions arise, the German parent points to the US subsidiary. The US subsidiary points to the German parent. Nobody is accountable. And children continue to be put at risk.

Part IV: Why It's Still Happening in 2026

The technology to fix this exists. Age verification, photo ID matching, AI content moderation, and real-time safety monitoring are all standard tools that any competent developer could implement in days. These aren't futuristic concepts — they're basic safety features that responsible platforms already use.

So why don't MeetMe and Skout use them?

Because safety costs money and reduces signups. The fine is cheaper than the fix. And the law doesn't make them care.

• Section 230 immunity. US law gives platforms near-total legal protection for what users do. Courts have consistently ruled that dating apps cannot be held liable for matching users — even when those users are predators targeting children.

• Safety kills growth. Every verification step is friction that means fewer signups. Fewer users means less ad revenue, fewer virtual gift purchases, and less money from live-streaming — which alone generates $70+ million per year.

• Fines are meaningless. A $200,000 settlement for a company making $434 million a year. That's not a penalty — it's a licensing fee for negligence.

• Corporate distance by design. Italy to Germany to the USA. The layers of corporate ownership make direct accountability nearly impossible.

What You Can Do

1. Check your children's phones for MeetMe, Skout, Tagged, and Hi5. Delete them immediately.
2. Report the apps to your local app store. Both Apple and Google have policies against apps that endanger minors — hold them to it.
3. Talk to your kids about location-sharing apps, stranger danger online, and why "free" apps aren't actually free.
4. Share this article. Most parents have never heard of these apps — and that's what the company is counting on.

The Berlusconi family's media empire spent $685 million on dating app acquisitions. They paid $200,000 in safety fines. Three children were raped. Business continues as usual.

This isn't a tech problem. It's a choice.

Sources: ABC News, CNN, SF City Attorney, Courthouse News, ProSiebenSat.1, Wikipedia, Trustpilot