Online Personals Watch Exclusive Interview #11 - Senator Cropsey

OPW INTERVIEW -- Aug 17, 2005 -- Senator Cropsey - Senate sponsor of the Michigan background checks legislation

Why do we need legislation for background checks on online dating sites?
As chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee I'm always concerned about people being victimized by criminals, especially women and children are being violated by rapists and pedophiles.  The United States Department of Justice reports that sexual assaults are the most under-reported crime in our nation.  When vulnerable women and children are violated, the state prosecutes the sexual predator.  The best situation is for women and children not to be victimized in the first place.  At the very least online dating companies need to let their clientele know the risks that they face.  If an online dating company is doing background checks, the company should state the limitations of the background checks.  If the online dating company refuses to do a background check, then the company should clearly warn their clientele of the risks that they face.  If more people become better informed and take proper precautions, then fewer women and children are victimized.

Rape is a terrible crime.  A lady contacted my office who was raped 8 years ago. Just a few months ago she realized while she was sitting on her patio that she hadn't thought about the rape for 15 minutes...and that was a tremendous victory.  Rape is a life sentence for the victim.

What is the likelihood of success for the legislation?
Legislation will eventually pass.  Once the first state passes legislation several other states will follow.  It's just a matter of time.  In this case more victims are coming forward and saying that more protection is needed.  One of the things the online dating companies cannot afford to happen is for them to appear that they are not doing all they can to protect women and children.  My offer to online dating companies is, come sit down and help write legislation that gives additional safety to your clientele.

What are the next steps for the legislation?
This summer we are working on this issue to see if we can reach an agreement with the online dating companies on background check notices that would help to protect and educate their clients.

How can online dating companies help?
Online dating companies need to help find a solution and thereby reduce victimization, to let us know their ideas and work with us.  At the very least they can send me an email with their ideas.  Eventually the online dating companies can get together with me in Lansing to help craft this legislation.  We need law enforcement, victims, and online dating companies to sit down and figure out how to address this issue.  You can expect this to happen within the next couple of months.   

It would be helpful if the online dating companies had a leadership team that can speak for their industry.  It is impractical to have 50 online dating services show up and want to sit down with the victims and law enforcement organizations.  Virtually every other organization realizes the benefit of having a representative group; such as doctors, lawyers, insurance agencies.  Most groups realize they need someone to speak for them for the benefit of their industries.   

At this point, legislation is in the conceptual stage.  The online dating companies can have a maximum impact at this early stage to shape the legislation.  When the online dating companies understand the concerns of the legislature, they can work to meet that concern.  Do not wait for a bad incident to happen and have the legislature stampede a law through that does not take everything into consideration. Online dating companies need someone who has the authority to speak for the industry. 

Are there other areas that you are thinking of applying such legislation?   
Whenever the government sees a significant problem it will try to remedy that problem through law.  This is not the first time that an internet business would be subject to government regulation.  Michigan had spam legislation signed a year ago.  Background checks are being performed in other areas of life, such as in public schools and daycare centers.

What happened with the Michigan legislation this time around?
The only holdup is that it didn't get past the state senate.  I was initially responsible for delaying the legislation.  My position has changed.  I now believe that legislation is needed.   The House of Representatives has already overwhelmingly passed legislation.  If legislation passes the senate, it will pass the house.
A year ago I did not see a need for legislation until a bad incident happened near my district.  A stalker killed himself as he was planting explosives in a woman's house that he met online.  This was an epiphany for me.  It made me realize that there is danger here.  That the legislature needs to address the issue; what are we doing to protect vulnerable women and children from sexual predators that are using the internet? 

What did you think of the mobile internet dating convention?
The meeting we had was very productive.  I learned a lot from the discussion and thoroughly enjoyed the forum.  I want to thank iDate for inviting me. 

Mark Brooks: The Michigan legislation passed the Michigan House by a 74-14 margin in the last legislative session.  The bill made it to the Senate at the end of the session where Cropsey held the bill up (as Chairman of the Criminal Justice Committee) and the session came to a close.  At the start of this session, Cropsey decided to champion the bill.  The bill passed out of his committee, but the full Senate wanted the Sex Offender language (a change so significant, it had to go back to Committee before full Senate consideration).

Comments

[Fernando Ardenghi]

The Australian State of Queensland passed a law (Act No. 59 of 2001) in 2001 concerning dating services.
They refer to them as "Introduction Agents"

The full version could be downloaded from:

http://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/LEGISLTN/ACTS/2001/01AC059.pdf

Also see
http://www.legislation.qld.gov.au
and search "introduction agents"
The act was amended in 2004
Amendments included Effective Notes
1 none 17 February 2003
1A to 2003 SL No. 143 1 July 2003
1B to 2004 SL No. 13 12 March 2004
1C to 2004 SL No. 103 1 July 2004

Regards,

Fernando Ardenghi
Buenos Aires
Argentina
[email protected]

[Fernando Ardenghi]

The latest version is

http://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/LEGISLTN/CURRENT/I/IntroAgA01.pdf

Amendments included Effective Notes
1D Act No. 4 21 March 2005
1E Act No. 14 22 April 2005

Regards,

Fernando Ardenghi
Buenos Aires
Argentina
[email protected]

[James Houran]

Thanks, Mark, for another great interview. What I appreciate is your professionalism --OPW is not like the other blogs that post unsubstantiated rumors and overly biased commentary. Rather, OPW has the industry credibility and visibility to get information direct from the source and pass it along without the annoying spin by those claiming to be "in the know" (but who aren't). High profile interviews like clearly show why OPW is THE online dating resource for the industry and the media.

Keep up the fantastic standards and industry service. We can only hope your approach rubs off on others!

Thanks,

James Houran, Ph.D.
Chief Psychologist, TRUE.com

[Lee Phillips]

I hear that the next step is to require nightclubs to run background checks on their patrons. After all, they are a place where many singles make romantic connections. Of course, we should also consider passing legislation for churches with singles groups to require background check on their members as well. That Bible could be full of explosives! You know, maybe we should also insist on background checks for that person in line at StarBucks that tries to chat us up.

Where will it stop? Why should we legislate away our common sense and personal responsibility? The incident that Senator Cropsey cites as contributing to his change of heart, while regrettable, could have occurred whether or not the stalker met the lady online.

I sometimes wonder what other forms of persuasion are being used on some of our elected representatives.

Lee Phillips
Independant Consultant/Developer

[Evan McCauley]

Senator Cropsey's desire to protect vulnerable members of society from criminals
is admirable. However, one has to wonder why this legislation is limited to the online dating industry. If backgrounds checks are an effective method of protecting people from criminals, shouldn't ALL organizations be required to perform background checks on their members? Isn't it true that far more criminals, such as rapists, meet their victims in offline venues such as schools, churches or bars than on dating sites?

[Fernando Ardenghi]

The most interesting sentence of all the interview to Senator Cropsey

"Online dating companies need someone who has the authority to speak for the industry."

Regards,

Fernando Ardenghi
Buenos Aires
Argentina
[email protected]

[Representative Barbara A. Farrah]

Sen. Cropsey and I don't agree on every issue, but his bill to protect online daters from unscrupulous persons is a movement that I can support.

In the dating world, a single woman can never be too careful. Meeting people in bars, through friends or over the Internet involves taking a risk. But just as you would hope a mutual friend that introduces you to someone who could turn into a potential relationship would let you know if there were any "red flags" to be aware of, Internet dating companies owe it to their customers to provide protection from criminals and sex offenders. Online dating companies are IN THE BUSINESS of pairing individuals for the purpose of potential relationships, therefore it is their duty to do everything possible to protect their users by either disclosing that they are completing sex offender background screenings or providing a "first line of defense" screening process for potential predators.

To be clear once more, unlike bars, bookstores and clubs, these online dating companies are accepting money for the explicit purpose of introducing singles for intimate relationships. People who preach about the value and power of "common sense" consistently fail to understand this latter point.

Studies have shown us that more than 90 percent of sex offenders who are monitored in their home states use online dating services. That is a scary number.

Many of our opponents will say that background checks aren't 100 percent effective, and that should prohibit us from moving forward with this legislation. But if a background checks and screening for registered sex offenders are only 50 percent effective, that's better than nothing. If five out of every ten Internet daters are protected from a predator, then it's worth it. The 50 percent of potential victims, mostly women, which will be saved from acts of violence or other crimes, are worth it.

One felon deterred is one potential victim saved. Passing Sen. Cropsey's bill will make online dating services safer for those who want to use them.

Currently, there is a false sense of security out there among many Internet daters that can be corrected easily through increased disclosure. Sen. Cropsey is taking the appropriate steps to help ease that false sense and has welcomed input from Internet dating companies.

For those who assert that this bill is special interest legislation, let me say that you are absolutely correct. The special interest group in question is the CONSUMER. Several surveys have shown public support for this legislation. Additionally, the legislation is supported by many organizations. The Safer Online Dating Alliance (SODA) has over 130 organizations ranging from law enforcement agencies, sexual assault and rape crisis centers and independent businesses that support legislation focused on raising the awareness level for online daters for the purpose of their personal safety when using dating services.

[Bill Broadbent]

Representative Farrah,

I imagine you are sincere about trying to write good legislation. But let me say that drawing upon my 20+ years in this sector, this is bad legislation, though the intent is honorable. I believe background checks can be a good thing, but there can be problems with them too.

Out of curiousity, have you studied what percent of the sex offenders also go to bars, grocery stores, bookstores and/or clubs? (Just a few places they surely go, but just highlighting the groups you name) You think people go to bars and clubs to drink? They can drink at home for far less. Why is a disclosure on the home page of a website necessary and being in the terms of service agreement not enough? Are you saying that all online agreements, dating related or not, should not be valid? Should all e-commerce be frozen in the state of Michigan? Here is another example, if Volvo made the safest car (just an example out of reputation) should all other car manufacturers post all the reasons prominently on the homepage of their website why they don't meet the safety standards of a Volvo? If someone can read enough to input their information, are they not capable of reading a terms of service agreement? Why does the State of Michigan feel the need to be designing web pages of businesses? Do you consider the women of Michigan (the group you say you are protecting) too dumb to read a terms of service agreement? Why don't you address the real problem and just pass better legislation to put the scumbags away? Bad laws let people out, don't make dating services be forced to police them because of government's soft stance. Legislators have determined laws that let sex offenders free, not a dating service. If sex offenders are not treatable, then lock them away for ever. Don't make a dating service try to determine who is worthy of finding love and who is not.

[Markus]

If this law was passed even true.com would be in voliation of the law.

1. Only people who paid for member ships have a background check done on them. This represents 5-10% of members.

2. Any paid member may communicate with a "free member" Free members represent 90 to 95% of the site.

The most likely person to fall victum to these sorts of people are desperate women. They sign up to a site and message the free male members who are then allowed to reply for free...

The following dating review site says that members don't have to be paid to converse with each other.

http://www.edatereview.com/021513displayreviews.aspx

[Lisa]

I would like to know who I can contact regarding the background checks , ect..
I would like to state my opinion and experience with someone I met through an online dating service, who is now a sexual offender after a csc 3 on my daughter.
And is now again a member on these dating services.. Thank you

[Bill Broadbent]

Lisa,

This is an excellent forum to post your story. A story like yours will likely reach the right people here. I am very sorry to hear about what happened to your daughter and it's a shame that anyone that committs a sexual offenses against a child (I am assuming she is a child) is able to walk the streets. Did he have a prior record or was this his first known offense?

[background checks]

great information, background checks are very useful

[Sheena - Background Check Advocate]

Background checks are an absolute neccessity for online dating sites. What the senator is doing is what we advocate to all our clients seeking dates on the Internet. You can't trust anybody out there. People are hiding behind false names, identities and much more. There are all kinds of deviants and offenders out there and to trust your life and money is absolute stupidity.

[shulae]

Thank you for the good information above. There are many good reasons.

Criminal record searches are done to ensure you hire only trustworthy people to work in your home.
Make sure that the persons taking care of your children and your house has undergone criminal record searches and has been cleared. Some people ask for the applicants to submit reports of criminal record searches themselves, others hire an independent service provider to do it, with appropriate consent of the persons concerned. Either way, doing criminal record searches ensures peace of mind to those who are not comfortable sharing a house with someone convicted of a crime. Thorough criminal record searches should also include the sex offender registry to make sure that your children won’t come into contact with a convicted child molester.

Criminal record searches are done to ensure employers hire the most suitable applicant for a job.
http://backgroundsearch.com/backgroundcheck/backgroundcheck/criminal-record-searches.html
Under the FCRA, employers are forbidden to order criminal record searches on job applicants without their consent, although those expected to receive $75,000 or more in salary are exempted. This means that persons applying for top positions may be required to undergo criminal record searches. Independent background search providers also have the means to do criminal record searches on information sources legally available to the public, making them the suitable service provicers to do it. Though the FCRA was designed to protect the rights of individuals wishing not to divulge personal information, it does not totally inhibit criminal record searches made by employers who have justifiable reasons to do so. When the situation calls for it, criminal record searches are useful tools to protect employers from being charged with negligent hiring.