PRNEWSWIRE -- Apr 26 -- America's leading internet and technology firms and trade associations expressed deep reservations about the Florida bill that would impose government oversight on online dating and require criminal background checks or disclosures for users of online dating services. In a letter to the Florida legislature, the group noted that the bill would impose new liabilities and responsibilities upon not only Internet dating sites, but on an almost limitless array of Internet sites and services and has the potential to create a false sense of security for users. Although there have been very few, if any, instances of online dating related crimes in Florida, the legislation would require background checks or disclosures that the services do not screen customers. "Consumers are in the best position to determine which services provide them with the most security and comfort," concluded Netcoalition spokesperson Erickson, "not the government." NetCoalition serves as the public policy voice for: AeA, Amazon, AOL, Association for Competitive Technology, CareerBuilder, eBay, eHarmony, Electronic Retailing Association, FriendFinder, Google, IdeaOasis, Information Technology Association of America, Internet Alliance, Internet Commerce Coalition, Lavalife, Match.com, Microsoft, MyEMatch.com, NetChoice, ProfileDoctor, Singles Industry Trade Association, Spark Networks, TechNet, The Right One, Trufina, Userplane, U.S. Internet Service Provider Association, VeriSign, Yahoo!
Mark Brooks: Weighty opposition to the background checks legislation.
Background check ... sounds like the old days communism.
People tend to forget that criminals are less than 2% of the population! Does that warrants a background check of 100% of the population! Very UNamerican...
There is as much risk doing internet dating than going out in a club to do the same.
It is just a bunch of paranoids who hate freedom!
Posted by: Frederic Desjardins @ dateafter.com | Nov 18, 2007 at 02:00 PM
Well Im on the fence with this proposed bill. On one hand I agree that it may be an extreme measure to do a mandatory background check during the registration process. On the other I do think it may be helpful to stop sexual predators from attacking people. I think that if you are chatting with someone online and your gut tells you that their shady and they may not be who they say they are then do a background check on your own before you meet them in person. Your natural instinct is usually spot on and if you need the verification for yourself then running a background check on your own is a quick and easy solution.
Posted by: Leslie | Feb 17, 2009 at 03:19 PM