| INTERNET DATING & DATING INDUSTRY CONFERENCE SOCIAL NETWORKING LEGAL & BUSINESS INFORMATION State of Illinois Senate Bill SB2545 Internet Dating Safety Act of 2012 Provided to INTERNET DATING & DATING INDUSTRY CONFERENCE courtesy of the State of Illinois Senate |
Dating Industry & Internet Dating Conference is sponsoring‡ the NCMEC (National Center for Missing & Exploited Children). Programs like the NCMEC helped find 15 year old Elizabeth Smart on March 12, 2003 after 9 months of being missing. Please report if you have seen any of the missing children in this banner to the NCMEC. |
DISCUSS THIS BILL WITH OTHERS IN THE INDUSTRY |
Introduced 12/13/2011, by Sen. Ira I. Silverstein
SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
| LRB097 14729 AEK 59730 b A BILL FOR | |
| SB2545 - Enrolled LRB097 14729 AEK 59730 b | |
| 1 | AN ACT concerning business. |
| 2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, |
| 3 | represented in the General Assembly: |
| 4 | Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the |
| 5 | Internet Dating Safety Act. |
| 6 | Section 2. Findings, declarations. |
| 7 | The Legislature finds and declares that residents of this |
| 8 | State need to be informed of the potential risks of |
| 9 | participating in Internet dating services. There is a public |
| 10 | safety need to disclose whether criminal history background |
| 11 | screenings have been performed and to increase public awareness |
| 12 | of the possible risks associated with Internet dating |
| 13 | activities. The primary purpose of this Act is to enhance the |
| 14 | safety of individuals who use an Internet service to facilitate |
| 15 | dating. |
| 16 | The offer of Internet dating services to residents of this |
| 17 | State, and the acceptance of membership fees from residents of |
| 18 | this State means that an Internet dating service is conducting |
| 19 | business in this State and is subject to regulation by this |
| 20 | State and the jurisdiction of the State's courts. |
| 21 | Section 5. Definitions. As used in this Act: |
| 22 | "Criminal background screening" means a name search for a |
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| 1 | person's criminal convictions initiated by an on-line dating |
| 2 | service provider and conducted by: |
| 3 | (1) searching available and regularly updated |
| 4 | government public record databases for criminal |
| 5 | convictions so long as such databases, in the aggregate, |
| 6 | provide substantial national coverage; or |
| 7 | (2) searching a database maintained by a private vendor |
| 8 | that is regularly updated and is maintained in the United |
| 9 | States with substantial national coverage of criminal |
| 10 | history records and sexual offender registries. |
| 11 | "Internet dating service" means a person or entity in the |
| 12 | business, for a fee, of providing dating, romantic |
| 13 | relationship, or matrimonial services principally on or |
| 14 | through the Internet. |
| 15 | "Member" means a customer, client, or participant who |
| 16 | submits to an Internet dating service information required to |
| 17 | access the service for the purpose of engaging in dating, |
| 18 | relationship, compatibility, matrimonial, or social referral. |
| 19 | "Illinois member" means a member who provides an Illinois |
| 20 | billing address or zip code when registering with the service. |
| 21 | "Criminal conviction" means a conviction for any crime |
| 22 | including but not limited to any sex offense that would qualify |
| 23 | the offender for registration pursuant to the Sex Offender |
| 24 | Registration Act or under another jurisdiction's equivalent |
| 25 | statute. |
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| 1 | Section 10. Requirements for Internet dating services. |
| 2 | (a) An Internet dating service offering services to |
| 3 | Illinois members shall provide a safety awareness notification |
| 4 | to all Illinois members that includes, at a minimum, a list and |
| 5 | description of safety measures reasonably designed to increase |
| 6 | awareness of safer dating practices as determined by the |
| 7 | service. |
| 8 | Examples of such notifications include, but are not limited |
| 9 | to: |
| 10 | (1) "Anyone who is able to commit identity theft can |
| 11 | also falsify a dating profile." |
| 12 | (2) "There is no substitute for acting with caution |
| 13 | when communicating with any stranger who wants to meet |
| 14 | you." |
| 15 | (3) "Never include your last name, e-mail address, home |
| 16 | address, phone number, place of work, or any other |
| 17 | identifying information in your Internet profile or |
| 18 | initial e-mail messages. Stop communicating with anyone |
| 19 | who pressures you for personal or financial information or |
| 20 | attempts in any way to trick you into revealing it." |
| 21 | (4) "If you choose to have a face-to-face meeting with |
| 22 | another member, always tell someone in your family or a |
| 23 | friend where you are going and when you will return. Never |
| 24 | agree to be picked up at your home. Always provide your own |
| 25 | transportation to and from your date and meet in a public |
| 26 | place with many people around." |
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| 1 | (b) If an Internet dating service does not conduct criminal |
| 2 | background screenings on its members, the service shall |
| 3 | disclose, clearly and conspicuously, to all Illinois members |
| 4 | that the Internet dating service does not conduct criminal |
| 5 | background screenings. The disclosure shall be provided in two |
| 6 | or more of the following forms: when an electronic mail message |
| 7 | is sent or received by an Illinois member, in a "click- |
| 8 | through" or other similar presentation requiring a member from |
| 9 | this State to acknowledge that they have received the |
| 10 | information required by this Act, on the profile describing a |
| 11 | member to an Illinois member, and on the website pages or |
| 12 | homepage of the Internet dating service used when an Illinois |
| 13 | member signs up. A disclosure under this subsection shall be in |
| 14 | bold, capital letters in at least 12-point type. |
| 15 | (c) If an Internet dating service conducts criminal |
| 16 | background screenings on all of its communicating members, then |
| 17 | the service shall disclose, clearly and conspicuously, to all |
| 18 | Illinois members that the Internet dating service conducts a |
| 19 | criminal background screening on each member prior to |
| 20 | permitting an Illinois member to communicate with another |
| 21 | member. The disclosure shall be provided on the website pages |
| 22 | used when an Illinois member signs up. A disclosure under this |
| 23 | subsection shall be in bold, capital letters in at least |
| 24 | 12-point type. |
| 25 | (d) If an Internet dating service conducts criminal |
| 26 | background screenings, then the service shall disclose whether |
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| 1 | it has a policy allowing a member who has been identified as |
| 2 | having a criminal conviction to have access to its service to |
| 3 | communicate with any Illinois member; shall state that criminal |
| 4 | background screenings are not foolproof; that they may give |
| 5 | members a false sense of security; that they are not a perfect |
| 6 | safety solution; that criminals may circumvent even the most |
| 7 | sophisticated search technology; that not all criminal records |
| 8 | are public in all states and not all databases are up to date; |
| 9 | that only publicly available convictions are included in the |
| 10 | screening; and that screenings do not cover other types of |
| 11 | convictions or arrests or any convictions from foreign |
| 12 | countries. |
| 13 | Section 15. Unlawful practices for Internet dating |
| 14 | services. It is an unlawful practice under the Consumer Fraud |
| 15 | and Deceptive Business Practices Act for an Internet dating |
| 16 | service to fail to provide notice or falsely indicate that it |
| 17 | has performed criminal background screenings in accordance |
| 18 | with this Act. |
| 19 | Section 20. No violation to serve as intermediary. An |
| 20 | Internet service provider or website hosting service does not |
| 21 | violate this Act as a result of serving as an intermediary for |
| 22 | the transmission of electronic messages between members of an |
| 23 | Internet dating service. |
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| 1 | Section 90. The Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business |
| 2 | Practices Act is amended by adding Section 2MMM as follows: |
| 3 | (815 ILCS 505/2MMM new) |
| 4 | Sec. 2MMM. Internet dating safety. It is an unlawful |
| 5 | practice under this Act for an Internet dating service to fail |
| 6 | to provide notice or falsely indicate that it has performed |
| 7 | criminal background screenings in accordance with the Internet |
| 8 | Dating Safety Act. |
| 9 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon |
| 10 | becoming law. |
DISCUSS THIS BILL WITH OTHERS IN THE INDUSTRY |