Complain about a product or service

States Cracking Down on Dating Sites

September 27, 2006

• Facebook Agrees to Upgrade Safety Measures • Hanna Montana Photo Flap Part of a Trend • New Jersey Investigating College Gossip Site • No Easy Remedy for Imposter Postings on Social Networking Sites • Social Networking Sites Not the Biggest Danger for Teens? • Keeping Teens Safe Online • MySpace Agrees To Toughen Security For Young Users • MySpace Harassment Case Takes Odd Turn • Texas Sues Kids' Web Sites • States Keep the Heat on Facebook, MySpace • Texas Rounds Up 14 Sex Offenders on MySpace • New Jersey Subpoenas Facebook • Predator Who Used MySpace Gets Seven-Year Sentence • Facebook Has 'A Long Way to Go,' Investigators Say • Cuomo Charges Facebook Ignores Sexual Predators • MySpace Deletes More Sex Offenders • New Jersey Targets Sex Offenders With MySpace Profiles • States To Get MySpace Sex Offender Data • MySpace Deletes Thousands Of Sex Offenders • States Press MySpace For Data On Sex Offenders • Survey Finds Teen Behaviors Linked with Victimization • New MySpace Security Measures May Be Too Late • MySpace Builds Database to Target Predators • Pittsburgh Man Arrested in MySpace Sex Case • New Scam Targets MySpace Users • States Cracking Down on Dating Sites • MySpace Glitch Gives Hackers Teen Data • FTC "Concerned" About MySpace & Other Networking Sites • Texas Teen Sues MySpace for $30 Million • MySpace Debuts $1.99 Video Downloads • Massachusetts Puts Heat on MySpace.com • MySpace Names Security Czar • Connecticut Asks MySpace to Provide Blocking Software to Parents • What's Inside MySpace.com? • Connecticut Opens MySpace.Com Probe --- • MySpace Complaints • Facebook Complaints

With federal agencies showing little interest, several states are taking the lead in tightening oversight of the online dating industry, considering new laws that would, among other things, mandate criminal background checks on all those looking for love on the Internet.

New York is so far the only state that has a law regulating online dating sites, but six other states have introduced similar legislation mainly in the last year, according to the National Law Journal. They are California, Florida, Michigan, Ohio, Virginia and Texas.

Lawmakers say the industry isn't doing enough to police itself and is putting vulnerable people at risk of meeting up with predators.

Some states want to make criminal background checks mandatory while others want sites to alert surfers upfront that background checks on potential dates have not been done.

Regulating Internet sites is easier said than done, though. They operate in Interstate commerce and many of their operations are protected by First Amendment considerations.

Attorneys for the services complain that it would be nearly impossible for a worldwide Web site to comply with a patchwork of state laws.

Attorney Michael Marin of Houston is currently defending Myspace.com in a Texas case involving a 14-year-old girl who claims she was sexually assaulted by someone she met on Myspace, and is seeking to hold the Web site liable.

Last year he successfully defended an online dating company that was sued by a user who allegedly was raped by someone she met on the company's Web site. Marin got the case dismissed, citing the 1996 Communications Decency Act (CDA), which grants broad immunity to Internet companies for content provided by third parties.

Marin said consumers must take some responsibility for their safety.

"If you're a consumer and you meet someone online you can go and pay for a background check," he said. State laws requiring such checks would "create a false sense of security," he added.

But Marin said such checks are often incomplete and are no guarantee of safety.

A few sites, including TheBadge.org and True, have recently started offering background checks to their paid members.

Sites like Zabasearch.com offers background checks that can sometimes include criminal records. But, like all services that rely on public records, it cannot guarantee the accuracy of its results.

Report Your Experience
If you've had a bad experience -- or a good one -- with a consumer product or service, we'd like to hear about it. All complaints are reviewed by class action attorneys and are considered for publication on our site. Knowledge is power! Help spread the word. File your consumer report now.