Full Text of HB5299 94th General Assembly
HB5299sam002 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
|
Sen. John J. Cullerton
Filed: 3/28/2006
|
|
09400HB5299sam002 |
|
LRB094 15758 LCT 57800 a |
|
| 1 |
| AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 5299
| 2 |
| AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 5299, AS AMENDED, by | 3 |
| replacing everything after the enacting clause with the | 4 |
| following:
| 5 |
| "Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the | 6 |
| Internet Dating Disclosure and Safety Awareness Act. | 7 |
| Section 5. Definitions. As used in this Act: | 8 |
| "Communicate" or "communicating" means free-form text | 9 |
| authored by a member or real-time voice communication through | 10 |
| an online dating service provider. | 11 |
| "Criminal background check" means a search for a person's | 12 |
| felony and sex offense convictions initiated by an online | 13 |
| dating service provider conducted through one of the means | 14 |
| provided for in Section 10 of this Act. | 15 |
| "Member" means a person who submits to an online dating | 16 |
| service provider the information required by the provider to | 17 |
| access the provider's service for the purpose of engaging in | 18 |
| dating, participating in compatibility evaluations with other | 19 |
| persons, or obtaining matrimonial matching services. | 20 |
| "Online dating service provider" or "provider" means a | 21 |
| person engaged in the business of offering or providing to its | 22 |
| members for a fee access to dating, compatibility evaluations | 23 |
| between persons, or matrimonial matching services through the | 24 |
| Internet. |
|
|
|
09400HB5299sam002 |
- 2 - |
LRB094 15758 LCT 57800 a |
|
| 1 |
| "Sex offense conviction" means a conviction for an offense | 2 |
| that would qualify the offender for registration as a sex | 3 |
| offender pursuant to the Sex Offender Registration Act or under | 4 |
| another state's equivalent statute. | 5 |
| Section 10. Criminal background check. For purposes of this | 6 |
| Act, a criminal background check shall be conducted through one | 7 |
| of the following means: | 8 |
| (1) by searching available and regularly updated | 9 |
| government public record databases for felony and sex | 10 |
| offense convictions so long as the databases, in the | 11 |
| aggregate, provide substantially national coverage; or | 12 |
| (2) by searching a database maintained by a private | 13 |
| vendor whose database contains more than 170,000,000 | 14 |
| criminal records that are otherwise available to the | 15 |
| public, has substantially national coverage, is updated at | 16 |
| least every 30 days, is operated and maintained in the | 17 |
| United States, and contains at least the same or | 18 |
| substantially similar criminal history records as would be | 19 |
| otherwise accessible through searches of all publicly | 20 |
| available government databases specified in item (1) of | 21 |
| this Section. | 22 |
| Section 15. Criminal background check; disclosures. | 23 |
| (a) An online dating service provider offering services to | 24 |
| residents of this State shall disclose clearly and | 25 |
| conspicuously, to any member who provides a billing address or | 26 |
| a zip code in this State when registering with the provider, | 27 |
| that the online dating provider either initiates a background | 28 |
| check of felony and sex offense convictions on each member | 29 |
| prior to permitting any member to communicate with a member in | 30 |
| this State or that the online dating service provider does not | 31 |
| initiate such a background check. | 32 |
| (b) If the online dating service provider does not initiate |
|
|
|
09400HB5299sam002 |
- 3 - |
LRB094 15758 LCT 57800 a |
|
| 1 |
| criminal background checks, the provider must make a disclosure | 2 |
| that shall read: | 3 |
|
"NO BACKGROUND CHECK OF FELONY OR SEX OFFENSE | 4 |
| CONVICTIONS IS DONE ON MEMBERS WHO USE THIS SERVICE. PLEASE | 5 |
| TAKE APPROPRIATE SAFETY MEASURES TO INCREASE AWARENESS OF | 6 |
| POSSIBLE RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH DATING."
| 7 |
| (c) The disclosure required by subsection (b) of this | 8 |
| Section shall appear on a web page required to be viewed by a | 9 |
| person applying to be a member who has indicated a billing | 10 |
| address or zip code in this State in the registration process. | 11 |
| The disclosure cannot be more than 3 inches from the top of the | 12 |
| web page and must be: | 13 |
| (1) in bold capital letters; | 14 |
| (2) in at least 12 point type; and | 15 |
| (3) in a color that contrasts from the background. | 16 |
| The provider shall require the applicant in this State to | 17 |
| make an electronic acknowledgement that the applicant has been | 18 |
| provided the disclosure before the applicant is accepted as a | 19 |
| member. The disclosure required by subsection (b) of this | 20 |
| Section shall additionally appear on any page that appears to a | 21 |
| member in this State each time that member initiates or | 22 |
| receives a communication with another member through the | 23 |
| provider's service. | 24 |
| (d) If the online dating service provider conducts criminal | 25 |
| background checks and the provider has a policy allowing a | 26 |
| member who has been identified as having a felony
or sex | 27 |
| offense conviction to have access to its service to communicate | 28 |
| with any member in this State, the provider shall clearly and | 29 |
| conspicuously disclose on any communication to a member in this | 30 |
| State from the member who has been identified
as having a | 31 |
| felony or sex offense conviction, and on any web page that is | 32 |
| seen by or transmitted to a member in this State that contains | 33 |
| the personal information for the member who has been identified | 34 |
| as having a felony or sex offense conviction and that is seen |
|
|
|
09400HB5299sam002 |
- 4 - |
LRB094 15758 LCT 57800 a |
|
| 1 |
| by or communicated to a member in this State, a disclosure that | 2 |
| shall read:
| 3 |
| "THIS PERSON HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED AS HAVING A FELONY OR | 4 |
| SEX OFFENSE CONVICTION." | 5 |
| Section 20. Provider policies; disclosure. An online | 6 |
| dating service provider that conducts criminal background | 7 |
| checks shall establish an automatic electronic link to a web | 8 |
| page that provides a safety awareness notification. At a | 9 |
| minimum, the safety awareness notification shall provide the | 10 |
| following:
| 11 |
| (1) A statement that reads: | 12 |
| "PERSONAL SAFETY AWARENESS NOTICE CAUTION: Before | 13 |
| allowing Illinois members to communicate with other | 14 |
| members . . . [Name of provider] . . . initiates a | 15 |
| background check of available public records to | 16 |
| determine if any felony or sex offense convictions are | 17 |
| identified based on the name and other information we | 18 |
| require of members to create a profile. The purpose is | 19 |
| to provide a preliminary background screening for the | 20 |
| increased protection of our members before they are | 21 |
| permitted to begin communicating directly with each | 22 |
| other. | 23 |
| The background checks for felony and sex offense | 24 |
| convictions are not foolproof and are not intended to | 25 |
| give members a false sense of security. Background | 26 |
| checks are not a perfect safety solution and criminals | 27 |
| may circumvent even the most sophisticated search | 28 |
| technology. | 29 |
| Not all criminal records are public in all states | 30 |
| and not all databases are up-to-date. Only | 31 |
| commercially available felony and sex offense | 32 |
| convictions are included in the background check, but | 33 |
| background checks do not cover other convictions or |
|
|
|
09400HB5299sam002 |
- 5 - |
LRB094 15758 LCT 57800 a |
|
| 1 |
| arrests or any convictions from foreign countries. | 2 |
| Anyone who is able to commit identity theft can | 3 |
| also falsify a dating profile. | 4 |
| There is no substitute for using good common sense | 5 |
| and acting with caution when communicating with any | 6 |
| stranger who wants to meet you."
| 7 |
| (2) A list and description of safety measures | 8 |
| reasonably designed to increase awareness of safer dating | 9 |
| practices as determined by the provider. | 10 |
| Section 25. Application. Any online dating service | 11 |
| provider that signs up members from Illinois must comply with | 12 |
| the provisions of this Act.
| 13 |
| Section 30. Unfair business practice. Failure to comply | 14 |
| with the disclosure requirements of this Act shall constitute | 15 |
| an unlawful business practice under the Consumer Fraud and | 16 |
| Deceptive Business Practices Act. Each failure to provide the | 17 |
| required disclosure constitutes a separate violation. | 18 |
| Section 35. Civil penalties. In addition to the remedy | 19 |
| provided in this Act or the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive | 20 |
| Business Practices Act, the Attorney General may bring an | 21 |
| action and the court may impose a civil penalty of up to $1,000 | 22 |
| per violation, with an aggregate total not to exceed $25,000 | 23 |
| for any 24-hour period, against any online dating service | 24 |
| provider who violates any requirement of this Act. | 25 |
| Section 40. Internet Dating Disclosure and Safety | 26 |
| Awareness Act Fund. There is hereby created the Internet Dating | 27 |
| Disclosure and Safety Awareness Act Fund as a special fund in | 28 |
| the State Treasury. All civil monetary penalties imposed as a | 29 |
| result of any action filed under this Act shall be deposited | 30 |
| into the Fund. Monies in the Fund shall be allocated, subject |
|
|
|
09400HB5299sam002 |
- 6 - |
LRB094 15758 LCT 57800 a |
|
| 1 |
| to appropriation, to the Office of the Attorney General for | 2 |
| enforcement of this Act. | 3 |
| Section 45. Exemptions. | 4 |
| (a) An Internet service provider does not violate this Act | 5 |
| solely as a result of serving as an intermediary for the | 6 |
| transmission of electronic messages between members of an | 7 |
| online dating service provider. | 8 |
| (b) An Internet access service or other Internet service | 9 |
| provider shall not be considered an online dating service | 10 |
| provider within the meaning of this Act as to any online dating | 11 |
| service website provided by another person or entity. | 12 |
| (c) An Internet service provider that has fewer than 1,000 | 13 |
| members is exempt from the requirements of this Act. | 14 |
| Section 50. Severability. If any provision of this Act or | 15 |
| its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, | 16 |
| the invalidity of that provision or application does not affect | 17 |
| other provisions or applications of this Act that can be given | 18 |
| effect without the invalid provision or application. | 19 |
| Section 300. The State Finance Act is amended by adding | 20 |
| Section
5.663 as follows:
| 21 |
| (30 ILCS 105/5.663 new)
| 22 |
| Sec. 5.663. The Internet Dating Disclosure and Safety | 23 |
| Awareness Act Fund.
| 24 |
| Section 500. The Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business | 25 |
| Practices Act is amended by changing Section 2Z as follows:
| 26 |
| (815 ILCS 505/2Z) (from Ch. 121 1/2, par. 262Z)
| 27 |
| Sec. 2Z. Violations of other Acts. Any person who knowingly | 28 |
| violates
the Automotive Repair Act, the Automotive Collision |
|
|
|
09400HB5299sam002 |
- 7 - |
LRB094 15758 LCT 57800 a |
|
| 1 |
| Repair Act,
the Home Repair and Remodeling Act,
the Dance | 2 |
| Studio Act,
the Physical Fitness Services Act,
the Hearing | 3 |
| Instrument Consumer Protection Act,
the Illinois Union Label | 4 |
| Act,
the Job Referral and Job Listing Services Consumer | 5 |
| Protection Act,
the Travel Promotion Consumer Protection Act,
| 6 |
| the Credit Services Organizations Act,
the Automatic Telephone | 7 |
| Dialers Act,
the Pay-Per-Call Services Consumer Protection | 8 |
| Act,
the Telephone Solicitations Act,
the Illinois Funeral or | 9 |
| Burial Funds Act,
the Cemetery Care Act,
the Safe and Hygienic | 10 |
| Bed Act,
the Pre-Need Cemetery Sales Act,
the High Risk Home | 11 |
| Loan Act, the Payday Loan Reform Act, subsection (a) or (b) of | 12 |
| Section 3-10 of the
Cigarette Tax Act, the Payday Loan Reform | 13 |
| Act, subsection
(a) or (b) of Section 3-10 of the Cigarette Use | 14 |
| Tax Act, the Electronic
Mail Act, paragraph (6)
of
subsection | 15 |
| (k) of Section 6-305 of the Illinois Vehicle Code, the Internet | 16 |
| Dating Disclosure and Safety Awareness Act, Article 3 of the | 17 |
| Residential Real Property Disclosure Act, the Automatic | 18 |
| Contract Renewal Act, or the Personal Information Protection | 19 |
| Act commits an unlawful practice within the meaning of this | 20 |
| Act.
| 21 |
| (Source: P.A. 93-561, eff. 1-1-04; 93-950, eff. 1-1-05; 94-13, | 22 |
| eff. 12-6-05; 94-36, eff. 1-1-06; 94-280, eff. 1-1-06; 94-292, | 23 |
| eff. 1-1-06; revised 8-19-05.)".
|
|