An Australian judge on Friday awarded a transgender woman $10,000 for her gender discrimination lawsuit, alleging that she was indirectly discriminated against by a women-only social media app.

Judge Bromwich dismissed the woman’s claim for direct discrimination, but found her claim for indirect sex discrimination successful because the app required users to have the appearance of a cisgender woman. The plaintiff also requested a written apology, but Judge Bromwich refused on the grounds that an apology from the defendant would not be sincere.

Roxanne Tickle has filed a complaint to the Australian Human Rights Council Commission (AHRC) in December 2021 pursuant to Section 22 of the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth). She claimed that she was being discriminated against because of her gender identity because she was banned from Giggle – an app marketed exclusively to women who want to share experiences and express themselves freely in a “safe space”.

Giggle founder Sall Grover said Tickle was removed from the app “because they are male, for no other reason.” Grover confirmed Tickle’s removal was “manual,” saying she looked at Tickle’s onboarding selfie and “saw a man.” She added: “The AI ​​software had let them through and made a mistake that I corrected.”

Tickle downloaded Giggle first in 2021. To access the app, users must upload a selfie to the platform, which is then evaluated by a third-party artificial intelligence (AI) software that determines whether the person is a man or a woman. If the software confirms that the user is a woman, they are granted full access to the app.

Tickle underwent this process and was granted full access to the app between February 2021 and September 2021. After this period, the plaintiff found that she could no longer use any of the app’s features, such as posting content or commenting on other people’s posts. She then received a “User Banned” message. Tickle attempted to contact the app’s owners about this issue, but received no response.

Australia’s Gender Discrimination Commissioner Dr Anna Cody praised the recognition that everyone should be treated equally and fairly under the law, regardless of their gender identity. Cody stated:

We must continue to recognise the worth and dignity of every person and reject the harmful stigmas and stereotypes that cause discrimination. No one in Australia should be excluded or discriminated against because of their sex or gender identity and we will continue to stand with the trans community and advocate for the rights of all women, including trans women.

This is the first case of alleged gender discrimination to be heard in the Australian Federal Court.