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Loading...States Consider New Laws To Make Online Dating Safer
After a lawsuit successfully convinced the dating website Match.com to screen their users for sex offenders, several states are considering new pieces of legislation which would make online dating safer. Bills are pending in Connecticut and Texas which would provide dating site users with more information. Although these bills wouldn’t require that sites screen their users, as Match.com has decided to do, users would be reminded not to provide any identifying information on their profiles (in the Connecticut bill) and notified whether the site conducts background checks on new users (in the Texas bill).
Critics of the Match.com move have pointed out that screening may not be effective, since many rapists are not previously convicted sex offenders. In fact, they say, this may lull users into a false sense of security. Would the states’ proposed measures do any more to protect the people who use online dating sites from potential sexual assault? It’s a tricky question.
A Connecticut state representative says that users need to be reminded not to post too much information. “I’ve heard from a number of people who unfortunately met someone online,” he said, “they gave them too much information and were damaged financially as well.”
The Texas bill requires sites to remind consumers that background checks are not a fool-proof protection, and that they can still be circumvented by people who might want to harm them.
Others say that online dating site users need to be reminded that common sense is one of their most important tools. Blogger Alex Vasquez says that it’s impossible for online dating to be completely safe. “What if the guy had come out and decided to do something bad to me?” he said. “There’s no guarantees. As convenient as online dating has become, there are still issues with safety. … People just assume that it’s safe.”
To me, it seems better to give site users more information than screening them for sex offense histories. Whether it will work is another question. What do you think? Should states get involved in the struggle to make online dating safer?
Read more: civil rights, dating, match.com, online dating, online safety, online screening, safety, sex offenders, sexual assault
Photo from Flickr.
Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may
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+ add your ownGreat idea!
great idea, hope it is safer for many people who enjoy meeting someone though online!
Couldn't the same thing happen when meeting a guy in the old traditional manner . . . . . . .
Then you have the FALSE positives or those that just made a mistake and now are determinately on this list.
I have several friends on the list that are there for life because of a false positive and to get this fixed will cost them alot of money to get the state to remove them.
More "you're too stupid" laws to intrude in the lives of the people!!
Absolutely!!!
Should I be legally required to warn my dinner guests beforehand that eating may result in food being lodged in the throat, causing choking? Or that eating my spaghetti may contribute to their obesity? Or that climbing the well-maintained steps outside my apartment may result in a slip and fall?
Do we really expect the state to take the place of our own common sense? And that's all it takes to know that investigating someone met on the internet before dating them is a smart move.
How enthusiastically so many long for greater regulation of their lives and businesses....
While one should always exercize a degree of caution when using these sites, as none can be 100% safe. It is ridiculous not to screen for sex offenders, as that will improve the odds significantly.
Have to agree that personal responsibility and buyer beware apply. Many persons who many not have had a conviction can be looking for partners on a dating web site. Nothing can guarantee you are safe other than do you own checking and meet people in a public place being cautious that they do not see your vehicle, etc. Using a pseudonym might be a good idea initially too so they cannot locate where you live.
This is a complicated society with so many different life styles that define people that you cannot possible learn if they are going to lie anyway.
Some people get lucky and some people get harmed in a serious way. Take care and always let people know where you are going and who you intend to meet, etc.
What ever happened to personal responsibility. Every time I make a mistake in judgment, it must be someone else fault?
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