Florida Panel May Regulate Online Dating
Virtual dating can attract real criminals, and some lawmakers want the state to help protect lovelorn singles from stalkers and rapists lurking on the Internet.
Source: ExciteLawmakers delved into the world of online dating Wednesday, debating a bill that would require Web sites to notify paying visitors whether they perform criminal background checks on their members.
"We do say love is blind. This is to put a disclosure there so we can lift the blinders," said sponsor Rep. Kevin Ambler, R-Tampa.
But critics said the move was a transparent marketing ploy by one online dating company that already performs the checks. And a Florida expert who has reviewed thousands of cases said he has never come across a crime stemming from an online dating site encounter.
True.com, which performs criminal and marital-status checks on all members, has been going state to state pitching similar measures to legislators. So far lawmakers in California, Ohio, Virginia, Michigan and Texas have proposed similar legislation - though it has yet to become law.
The company says the campaign is an effort to increase safety for love seekers, who too often believe they are safe with someone they think they have gotten to know online.
"You just don't know who's on the other end of that keyboard," said Sen. Victor Crist, the Senate sponsor of the bill. "You're more anxious about meeting Mr. Right than you are concerned about meeting Mr. Wrong."
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