HB0563ham002 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Judiciary II - Criminal Law Committee

Filed: 10/11/2007

09500HB0563ham002 LRB095 07951 AJO 37411 a

AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 563

AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 563, AS AMENDED, by replacing everything after the enacting clause with the following:

"Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Internet Dating Disclosure and Safety Awareness Act.

Section 5. Definitions. As used in this Act:

"Communicate" or "communicating" means free-form text authored by a member or real-time voice communication through an online dating service provider.

"Member" means a person who submits to an online dating service provider the information required by the provider to access the provider's service for the purpose of engaging in dating, participating in compatibility evaluations with other persons, or obtaining matrimonial matching services.

"Online dating service provider" or "provider" means a person engaged in the business of offering or providing to its members for a fee access to dating, compatibility evaluations between persons, or matrimonial matching services through the Internet.

"Sex offender registrant search" means a search for a person's current and historical registration status on each state's available sex offender registry, including the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, initiated by an online dating service provider conducted through one of the means provided for in Section 10 of this Act.

"Sex offense conviction" means a conviction for an offense that would qualify the offender for registration as a sex offender pursuant to the Sex Offender Registration Act or under another state's equivalent statute.

Section 10. Sex offender registrant search. For purposes of this Act, a sex offender registrant search shall be conducted through one of the following means:

(1) by searching each available and regularly updated state-wide sex offender registry database in all 50 states plus Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico; or

(2) by searching a database maintained and regularly updated by a private vendor whose database contains state-wide sex offender registrant information for all 50 states plus Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico as would be otherwise accessible through searches of all the available government databases specified in item (1) of this Section.

Section 15. Sex offender registrant search; disclosures.

(a) An online dating service provider offering services to residents of this State shall disclose clearly and conspicuously, to any member who provides a billing address or a zip code in this State when registering with the provider, that the online dating provider either initiates a sex offender registrant search of sex offender registrations on each member prior to permitting any member to communicate with a member in this State or that the online dating service provider does not initiate such a sex offender registrant search.

(b) If the online dating service provider does not initiate sex offender registrant searches, the provider must make a disclosure that shall read:

"NO SEX OFFENDER REGISTRY SEARCH IS DONE ON MEMBERS WHO USE THIS SERVICE. PLEASE TAKE APPROPRIATE SAFETY MEASURES TO INCREASE AWARENESS OF POSSIBLE RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH DATING."

(c) If the online dating service provider does initiate sex offender registrant searches, the disclosure shall read:

"...............(NAME OF PROVIDER)......... INITIATES A SEX OFFENDER REGISTRY SEARCH OF ALL 50 STATES PLUS WASHINGTON, D.C. AND PUERTO RICO BEFORE A MEMBER IS PERMITTED TO COMMUNICATE WITH ANY MEMBER FROM ILLINOIS."

(d) The disclosure required by either subsection (b) or subsection (c) of this Section shall appear on a web page required to be viewed by a person applying to be a member who has indicated a billing address or zip code in this State in the registration process. The disclosure cannot be more than 3 inches from the top of the web page and must be:

(1) in bold capital letters;

(2) in at least 12 point type; and

(3) in a color that contrasts from the background.

The provider shall require the applicant in this State to make an electronic acknowledgement that the applicant has been provided the disclosure before the applicant is accepted as a member. The disclosure required by either subsection (b) or subsection (c) of this Section shall additionally appear on any page that appears to a member in this State each time that member initiates or receives a communication with another member through the provider's service.

(e) If the online dating service provider conducts sex offender registry searches and the provider has a policy allowing a member who has been identified as being on a sex offender registry to have access to its service to communicate with any member in this State, the provider shall clearly and conspicuously disclose on any communication to a member in this State from the member who has been identified as having been on a sex offender registry, and on any web page that is seen by or transmitted to a member in this State that contains the personal information for the member who has been identified as having been on a sex offender registry and that is seen by or communicated to a member in this State, a disclosure that shall read:

"THIS PERSON HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED AS A CURRENT OR FORMER SEX OFFENDER REGISTERED ON ONE OR MORE SEX OFFENDER REGISTRIES."

Section 20. Provider policies; disclosure. An online dating service provider that conducts sex offender registry searches shall establish an automatic electronic link from any web page containing the disclosure required by subsection (c) of Section 15 to a web page that provides a safety awareness notification. The web page containing the safety awareness notification shall be configured such that it shall automatically appear each time a member makes the electronic acknowledgement of the disclosure under subsection (c) of Section 15. The member is required to make an electronic acknowledgement of the safety awareness notification each time it appears and the acknowledgement shall appear at the bottom of the web page containing the notification. At a minimum, the safety awareness notification shall provide the following:

(1) A statement that reads:

"PERSONAL SAFETY AWARENESS NOTICE CAUTION: Before allowing Illinois members to communicate with other members . . . [Name of provider] . . . initiates a sex offender registry search of all 50 states' plus Washington, D.C.'s and Puerto Rico's sex offender registries to determine if a member is a current or former sex offender registrant. The purpose is to provide a preliminary background screening for protection of our members before they are permitted to begin communicating directly with each other.

The sex offender registrant searches for sex offenders convictions are not foolproof and are not intended to give members a false sense of security. Sex offender registrant searches are not a perfect safety solution and offenders may circumvent even the most sophisticated search technology or registration requirements.

Not all sex offender records are public in all states and not all databases are up-to-date. Only publicly available sex offender registrant data is included in the search.

Anyone who is able to commit identity theft can also falsify a dating profile.

There is no substitute for using good common sense and acting with caution when communicating with any stranger who wants to meet you."

(2) A list and description of safety measures reasonably designed to increase awareness of safer dating practices as determined by the provider.

Section 25. Application. Any online dating service provider that signs up members from Illinois must comply with the provisions of this Act.

Section 30. Jurisdiction. An online dating service that engages in the act of transmitting files over the Internet addressed to residents of the State, and the act of accepting membership fees from residents of the State, means that the online dating service is operating, conducting, engaging in, and otherwise carrying on a business in the State, subjecting the online dating service providers to regulation by the State and to the jurisdiction of the State's courts.

Section 35. Unlawful practice. Failure to comply with the disclosure requirements of this Act shall constitute a an unlawful business practice under the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act. Each failure to provide the required disclosure constitutes a separate violation.

Section 40. Exemptions.

(a) An Internet service provider does not violate this Act solely as a result of serving as an intermediary for the transmission of electronic messages between members of an online dating service provider.

(b) An Internet access service or other Internet service provider shall not be considered an online dating service provider within the meaning of this Act as to any online dating service website provided by another person or entity.

(c) An Internet service provider that has fewer than 1,000 members is exempt from the requirements of this Act.

Section 45. Severability. If any provision of this Act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity of that provision or application does not affect other provisions or applications of this Act that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application.

Section 500. The Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act is amended by changing Section 2Z as follows:

(815 ILCS 505/2Z) (from Ch. 121 1/2, par. 262Z)

Sec. 2Z. Violations of other Acts. Any person who knowingly violates the Automotive Repair Act, the Automotive Collision Repair Act, the Home Repair and Remodeling Act, the Dance Studio Act, the Physical Fitness Services Act, the Hearing Instrument Consumer Protection Act, the Illinois Union Label Act, the Job Referral and Job Listing Services Consumer Protection Act, the Travel Promotion Consumer Protection Act, the Credit Services Organizations Act, the Automatic Telephone Dialers Act, the Pay-Per-Call Services Consumer Protection Act, the Telephone Solicitations Act, the Illinois Funeral or Burial Funds Act, the Cemetery Care Act, the Safe and Hygienic Bed Act, the Pre-Need Cemetery Sales Act, the High Risk Home Loan Act, the Payday Loan Reform Act, the Mortgage Rescue Fraud Act, subsection (a) or (b) of Section 3-10 of the Cigarette Tax Act, the Payday Loan Reform Act, subsection (a) or (b) of Section 3-10 of the Cigarette Use Tax Act, the Electronic Mail Act, paragraph (6) of subsection (k) of Section 6-305 of the Illinois Vehicle Code, the Internet Dating Disclosure and Safety Awareness Act, Article 3 of the Residential Real Property Disclosure Act, the Automatic Contract Renewal Act, or the Personal Information Protection Act commits an unlawful practice within the meaning of this Act.

(Source: P.A. 93-561, eff. 1-1-04; 93-950, eff. 1-1-05; 94-13, eff. 12-6-05; 94-36, eff. 1-1-06; 94-280, eff. 1-1-06; 94-292, eff. 1-1-06; 94-822, eff. 1-1-07.)".