97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2011 and 2012
SB2545

 

Introduced 12/13/2011, by Sen. Ira I. Silverstein

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
New Act
815 ILCS 505/2MMM new

    Creates the Internet Dating Safety Act. Requires Internet dating services offering services to Illinois members to provide a safety awareness notification to all Illinois members. Provides that if an Internet dating service does not conduct criminal background screenings on its members, the service shall disclose, clearly and conspicuously, to all Illinois members that the Internet dating service does not conduct criminal background screenings. Provides that an Internet service provider does not violate the Act solely as a result of serving as an intermediary for the transmission of electronic messages between members of an Internet dating service. Provides that the Attorney General, pursuant to the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act, shall adopt rules and regulations to effectuate the purposes of the Act. Amends the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act. Provides that it is an unlawful practice under the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act for an Internet dating service to fail to provide notice or falsely indicate that it has performed criminal background screenings in accordance with the Internet Dating Safety Act. Effective immediately.


LRB097 14729 AEK 59730 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

SB2545LRB097 14729 AEK 59730 b

1    AN ACT concerning business.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
5Internet Dating Safety Act.
 
6    Section 2. Findings, declarations.
7    The Legislature finds and declares that residents of this
8State need to be informed of the potential risks of
9participating in Internet dating services. There is a public
10safety need to disclose whether criminal history background
11screenings have been performed and to increase public awareness
12of the possible risks associated with Internet dating
13activities. The primary purpose of this Act is to enhance the
14safety of individuals who use an Internet service to facilitate
15dating.
16    The offer of Internet dating services to residents of this
17State, and the acceptance of membership fees from residents of
18this State means that an Internet dating service is conducting
19business in this State and is subject to regulation by this
20State 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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1person's criminal convictions initiated by an on-line dating
2service 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 directly
12or indirectly in the business, for profit, of offering,
13promoting or providing access to dating, relationship,
14compatibility, matrimonial, or social referral services
15principally on or through the Internet.
16    "Internet service provider" means any person, business, or
17organization qualified to do business in this State that
18provides individuals, corporations, or other entities with the
19ability to connect to the Internet through equipment that is
20located in this State.
21    "Member" means a customer, client, or participant who
22submits to an Internet dating service information required to
23access the service for the purpose of engaging in dating,
24relationship, compatibility, matrimonial, or social referral.
25    "Illinois member" means a member who provides an Illinois
26billing address or zip code when registering with the service.

 

 

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1    "Criminal conviction" means a conviction for any crime
2including but not limited to any sex offense that would qualify
3the offender for registration pursuant to the Sex Offender
4Registration Act or under another jurisdiction's equivalent
5statute.
 
6    Section 10. Requirements for Internet dating services.
7    (a) An Internet dating service offering services to
8Illinois members shall provide a safety awareness notification
9to all Illinois members that includes, at a minimum, a list and
10description of safety measures reasonably designed to increase
11awareness of safer dating practices as determined by the
12service.
13    Examples of such notifications include:
14        (1) "Anyone who is able to commit identity theft can
15    also falsify a dating profile."
16        (2) "There is no substitute for acting with caution
17    when communicating with any stranger who wants to meet
18    you."
19        (3) "Never include your last name, e-mail address, home
20    address, phone number, place of work, or any other
21    identifying information in your Internet profile or
22    initial e-mail messages. Stop communicating with anyone
23    who pressures you for personal or financial information or
24    attempts in any way to trick you into revealing it."
25        (4) "If you choose to have a face-to-face meeting with

 

 

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1    another member, always tell someone in your family or a
2    friend where you are going and when you will return. Never
3    agree to be picked up at your home. Always provide your own
4    transportation to and from your date and meet in a public
5    place with many people around.
6    (b) If an Internet dating service does not conduct criminal
7background screenings on its members, the service shall
8disclose, clearly and conspicuously, to all Illinois members
9that the Internet dating service does not conduct criminal
10background screenings. The disclosure shall be provided in two
11or more of the following forms: when an electronic mail message
12is sent or received by an Illinois member, in a "click-
13through" or other similar presentation requiring a member from
14this State to acknowledge that they have received the
15information required by this Act, on the profile describing a
16member to an Illinois member, and on the web-site pages or
17homepage of the Internet dating service used when an Illinois
18member signs up. A disclosure under this subsection shall be in
19bold, capital letters in at least 12-point type.
20    (c) If an Internet dating service conducts criminal
21background screenings on all of its communicating members, then
22the service shall disclose, clearly and conspicuously, to all
23Illinois members that the Internet dating service conducts a
24criminal background screening on each member prior to
25permitting an Illinois member to communicate with another
26member. The disclosure shall be provided on the website pages

 

 

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1used when an Illinois member signs up. A disclosure under this
2subsection shall be in bold, capital letters in at least
312-point type.
4    (d) If an Internet dating service conducts criminal
5background screenings, then the service shall disclose whether
6it has a policy allowing a member who has been identified as
7having a criminal conviction to have access to its service to
8communicate with any Illinois member; shall state that criminal
9background screenings are not foolproof; that they may give
10members a false sense of security; that they are not a perfect
11safety solution; that criminals may circumvent even the most
12sophisticated search technology; that not all criminal records
13are public in all states and not all databases are up to date;
14that only publicly available convictions are included in the
15screening; and that screenings do not cover other types of
16convictions or arrests or any convictions from foreign
17countries.
 
18    Section 15. Unlawful practices for Internet dating
19services. It is an unlawful practice under the Consumer Fraud
20and Deceptive Business Practices Act for an Internet dating
21service to fail to provide notice or falsely indicate that it
22has performed criminal background screenings in accordance
23with this Act.
 
24    Section 20. No violation to serve solely as intermediary.

 

 

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1An Internet service provider does not violate this Act solely
2as a result of serving as an intermediary for the transmission
3of electronic messages between members of an Internet dating
4service.
 
5    Section 25. Rules, regulations. The Attorney General,
6pursuant to the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act, shall
7adopt rules and regulations to effectuate the purposes of this
8Act.
 
9    Section 90. The Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business
10Practices Act is amended by adding Section 2MMM as follows:
 
11    (815 ILCS 505/2MMM new)
12    Sec. 2MMM. Internet dating safety. It is an unlawful
13practice under this Act for an Internet dating service to fail
14to provide notice or falsely indicate that it has performed
15criminal background screenings in accordance with the Internet
16Dating Safety Act.
 
17    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
18becoming law.