| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to on-line dating services; creating ss. |
| 3 | 501.165-501.171, F.S., the "Florida Internet Dating Safety |
| 4 | Awareness Act"; providing legislative findings; defining |
| 5 | terms; requiring certain disclosures by on-line dating |
| 6 | services; providing a clearinghouse for consumers; |
| 7 | providing civil penalties; providing exclusions; providing |
| 8 | a directive to the Division of Statutory Revision; |
| 9 | providing severability; providing an effective date. |
| 10 |
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| 11 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 12 |
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| 13 | Section 1. Section 501.165, Florida Statutes, is created |
| 14 | to read: |
| 15 | 501.165 Florida Internet Dating Safety Awareness Act; |
| 16 | legislative findings.-- |
| 17 | (1) Sections 501.165-501.171 may be cited as the "Florida |
| 18 | Internet Dating Safety Awareness Act." |
| 19 | (2)(a) The Legislature has received public testimony that |
| 20 | criminals and sex offenders use on-line dating services to prey |
| 21 | upon the citizens of this state. |
| 22 | (b) The Legislature finds that residents of this state |
| 23 | need to be informed when viewing websites of on-line dating |
| 24 | services as to potential risks to personal safety associated |
| 25 | with on-line dating. Also, requiring disclosures in the form of |
| 26 | guidelines for safer dating and informing residents as to |
| 27 | whether a criminal background screening has been conducted on |
| 28 | members of an on-line dating service fulfills a compelling state |
| 29 | interest to increase public awareness of the possible risks |
| 30 | associated with Internet dating activities. |
| 31 | (c) The Legislature finds that the act of transmitting |
| 32 | electronic dating information over the Internet addressed to |
| 33 | residents of the state, and the act of accepting membership fees |
| 34 | from residents of the state, means that an on-line dating |
| 35 | service is operating, conducting, engaging in, and otherwise |
| 36 | carrying on a business in the state subjecting such on-line |
| 37 | dating service providers to regulation by the state and to the |
| 38 | jurisdiction of the state's courts. |
| 39 | Section 2. Section 501.166, Florida Statutes, is created |
| 40 | to read: |
| 41 | 501.166 Definitions.--As used in ss. 501.165-501.171: |
| 42 | (1) "Communicate" or "communicating" means free-form text |
| 43 | authored by a member or real-time voice communication through an |
| 44 | on-line dating service provider. |
| 45 | (2) "Criminal background screening" means a search for a |
| 46 | person's felony and sexual offense convictions initiated by an |
| 47 | on-line dating service provider and conducted by one of the |
| 48 | following means: |
| 49 | (a) By searching available and regularly updated |
| 50 | government public record databases for felony and sexual offense |
| 51 | convictions so long as such databases, in the aggregate, provide |
| 52 | substantial national coverage; or |
| 53 | (b) By searching a database maintained by a private vendor |
| 54 | that is regularly updated and is maintained in the United States |
| 55 | with substantial national coverage of criminal history records |
| 56 | and sexual offender registries. |
| 57 | (3) "Department" means the Department of Agriculture and |
| 58 | Consumer Services. |
| 59 | (4) "Florida member" means a member as defined in |
| 60 | subsection (5) who provides a Florida billing address or zip |
| 61 | code when registering with the provider. |
| 62 | (5) "Member" means a person who submits to an on-line |
| 63 | dating service provider the information required by the provider |
| 64 | to access the provider's service for the purpose of engaging in |
| 65 | dating and participating in compatibility evaluations with other |
| 66 | persons or obtaining matrimonial matching services. |
| 67 | (6) "On-line dating service provider" or "provider" means |
| 68 | a person engaged in the business of offering or providing to its |
| 69 | members access to dating and compatibility evaluations between |
| 70 | persons or matrimonial matching services through the Internet. |
| 71 | (7) "Sexual offense conviction" means a conviction for an |
| 72 | offense that would qualify the offender for registration as a |
| 73 | sexual offender pursuant to s. 943.0435 or under another |
| 74 | jurisdiction's equivalent statute. |
| 75 | Section 3. Section 501.167, Florida Statutes, is created |
| 76 | to read: |
| 77 | 501.167 Provider safety awareness disclosures.--An on-line |
| 78 | dating service provider offering services to Florida members |
| 79 | shall: |
| 80 | (1) Provide a safety awareness notification with, at a |
| 81 | minimum, information that includes a list and description of |
| 82 | safety measures reasonably designed to increase awareness of |
| 83 | safer dating practices as determined by the provider. Examples |
| 84 | of such notifications include: |
| 85 | (a) "Anyone who is able to commit identity theft can also |
| 86 | falsify a dating profile." |
| 87 | (b) "There is no substitute for acting with caution when |
| 88 | communicating with any stranger who wants to meet you." |
| 89 | (c) "Never include your last name, e-mail address, home |
| 90 | address, phone number, place of work, or any other identifying |
| 91 | information in your on-line profile or initial e-mail messages. |
| 92 | Stop communicating with anyone who pressures you for personal or |
| 93 | financial information or attempts in any way to trick you into |
| 94 | revealing it." |
| 95 | (d) "If you choose to have a face-to-face meeting with |
| 96 | another member, always tell someone in your family or a friend |
| 97 | where you are going and when you will return. Never agree to be |
| 98 | picked up at your home. Always provide your own transportation |
| 99 | to and from your date and meet in a public place at a time with |
| 100 | many people around." |
| 101 | (2) If an on-line dating service provider does not conduct |
| 102 | criminal background screenings on its members, the provider |
| 103 | shall disclose, clearly and conspicuously, to all Florida |
| 104 | members that the on-line dating service provider does not |
| 105 | conduct criminal background screenings. The disclosure shall be |
| 106 | provided when an electronic mail message is sent or received by |
| 107 | a Florida member, on the profile describing a member to a |
| 108 | Florida member, and on the provider's website pages used when a |
| 109 | Florida member signs up. A disclosure under this subsection |
| 110 | shall be in bold, capital letters in at least 12-point type. |
| 111 | (3) If an on-line dating service provider conducts |
| 112 | criminal background screenings on all of its communicating |
| 113 | members, then the provider shall disclose, clearly and |
| 114 | conspicuously, to all Florida members that the on-line dating |
| 115 | service provider conducts a criminal background screening on |
| 116 | each member prior to permitting a Florida member to communicate |
| 117 | with another member. The disclosure shall be provided on the |
| 118 | provider's website pages used when a Florida member signs up. A |
| 119 | disclosure under this subsection shall be in bold, capital |
| 120 | letters in at least 12-point type. |
| 121 | (4) If an on-line dating service provider conducts |
| 122 | criminal background screenings, then the provider shall disclose |
| 123 | whether it has a policy allowing a member who has been |
| 124 | identified as having a felony or sexual offense conviction to |
| 125 | have access to its service to communicate with any Florida |
| 126 | member; that background screenings for felony and sexual offense |
| 127 | convictions are not foolproof, are not intended to give members |
| 128 | a false sense of security, are not a perfect safety solution and |
| 129 | criminals may circumvent even the most sophisticated search |
| 130 | technology; that not all criminal records are public in all |
| 131 | states and not all databases are up to date; that only publicly |
| 132 | available felony and sexual offense convictions are included in |
| 133 | the screening; and that screenings do not cover other types of |
| 134 | convictions or arrests or any convictions from foreign |
| 135 | countries. |
| 136 | Section 4. Section 501.168, Florida Statutes, is created |
| 137 | to read: |
| 138 | 501.168 Clearinghouse.--The department shall serve as the |
| 139 | clearinghouse for intake of information concerning ss. |
| 140 | 501.165-501.171, the Florida Internet Dating Safety Awareness |
| 141 | Act, from consumers, residents, and victims. The consumer |
| 142 | hotline may be used for this purpose. Information obtained shall |
| 143 | be directed to the appropriate enforcement entity, as determined |
| 144 | by the department. |
| 145 | Section 5. Section 501.169, Florida Statutes, is created |
| 146 | to read: |
| 147 | 501.169 Civil penalties.-- |
| 148 | (1) An on-line dating service provider that registers |
| 149 | Florida members must comply with the provisions of ss. |
| 150 | 501.165-501.171. |
| 151 | (2) Failure to comply with the disclosure requirements of |
| 152 | ss. 501.165-501.171 shall constitute a deceptive and unfair |
| 153 | trade practice under part II. Each failure to provide a required |
| 154 | disclosure constitutes a separate violation. |
| 155 | (3) In addition to the remedy provided in subsection (2), |
| 156 | the court may impose a civil penalty of up to $1,000 per |
| 157 | violation, with an aggregate total not to exceed $25,000 for any |
| 158 | 24-hour period, against any on-line dating service provider that |
| 159 | violates any requirement of ss. 501.165-501.171. Suit may be |
| 160 | brought by an enforcing authority, as defined in s. 501.203. Any |
| 161 | penalties collected shall accrue to the enforcing authority or |
| 162 | the department's Division of Consumer Services to further |
| 163 | consumer enforcement efforts. |
| 164 | Section 6. Section 501.171, Florida Statutes, is created |
| 165 | to read: |
| 166 | 501.171 Exclusions.-- |
| 167 | (1) An Internet access service or other Internet service |
| 168 | provider does not violate ss. 501.165-501.171 solely as a result |
| 169 | of serving as an intermediary for the transmission of electronic |
| 170 | messages between members of an on-line dating service provider. |
| 171 | (2) An Internet access service or other Internet service |
| 172 | provider shall not be considered an on-line dating service |
| 173 | provider within the meaning of ss. 501.165-501.171 as to any on- |
| 174 | line dating service website provided by another person or |
| 175 | entity. |
| 176 | Section 7. The Division of Statutory Revision is directed |
| 177 | to include the provisions of sections 501.165-501.171, Florida |
| 178 | Statutes, in part I of chapter 501, Florida Statutes. |
| 179 | Section 8. If any provision of this act or the application |
| 180 | thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the |
| 181 | invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of |
| 182 | this act that can be given effect without the invalid provision |
| 183 | or application, and to this end the provisions of this act are |
| 184 | declared severable. |
| 185 | Section 9. This act shall take effect July 1, 2006. |