Bill Text: TX SB488 | 2011-2012 | 82nd Legislature | Enrolled
Bill Title: Relating to criminal background checks on users of online dating services and to disclosures of online dating safety measures; providing a civil penalty.
Sponsorship: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Passed) 2011-05-09 - Effective on 9/1/11 [SB488 Detail]
Download: Texas-2011-SB488-Enrolled.html
| S.B. No. 488 | ||
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| relating to criminal background checks on users of online dating | ||
| services and to disclosures of online dating safety measures; | ||
| providing a civil penalty. | ||
| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
| SECTION 1. Subtitle C, Title 5, Business & Commerce Code, is | ||
| amended by adding Chapter 106 to read as follows: | ||
| CHAPTER 106. INTERNET DATING SAFETY ACT | ||
| Sec. 106.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter: | ||
| (1) "Member" means a person who submits to an online | ||
| dating service provider the information required by the provider to | ||
| access the provider's service for the purpose of engaging in dating | ||
| or participating in a compatibility evaluation with other persons. | ||
| (2) "Online dating service provider" means a person | ||
| engaged in the business of offering or providing to its members | ||
| access to dating or compatibility evaluations between persons | ||
| through the Internet to arrange or facilitate the social | ||
| introduction of two or more persons for the purpose of promoting the | ||
| meeting of individuals. | ||
| (3) "Texas member" means a member who provides a | ||
| billing address or zip code in this state when registering with the | ||
| online dating service provider. | ||
| Sec. 106.002. APPLICABILITY OF CHAPTER. This chapter does | ||
| not apply to an Internet service provider serving as an | ||
| intermediary for the transmission of electronic messages between | ||
| members of an online dating service provider. | ||
| Sec. 106.003. CONDUCT OF CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECK. | ||
| (a) For purposes of this chapter, an online dating service | ||
| provider conducts a criminal background check on a person if the | ||
| provider initiates a name search for the person's convictions for | ||
| any: | ||
| (1) felony offense; | ||
| (2) offense the conviction or adjudication of which | ||
| requires registration as a sex offender under Chapter 62, Code of | ||
| Criminal Procedure; and | ||
| (3) offense for which an affirmative finding of family | ||
| violence was made under Article 42.013, Code of Criminal Procedure. | ||
| (b) The name search described by Subsection (a) must be | ||
| conducted by searching: | ||
| (1) available and regularly updated government public | ||
| record databases for criminal conviction records described by | ||
| Subsections (a)(1)-(3) that in the aggregate provide substantially | ||
| national coverage of those records; or | ||
| (2) regularly updated databases that contain at least | ||
| the same or substantially similar coverage as would be accessible | ||
| through searching databases described by Subdivision (1). | ||
| Sec. 106.004. DISCLOSURE BY PROVIDER THAT DOES NOT CONDUCT | ||
| CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECK. (a) An online dating service provider | ||
| that offers services to residents of this state and does not conduct | ||
| a criminal background check on each member before permitting a | ||
| Texas member to communicate through the provider with another | ||
| member shall clearly and conspicuously disclose to all Texas | ||
| members that the provider does not conduct criminal background | ||
| checks, as described by Section 106.003. | ||
| (b) The disclosure required by this section must be stated | ||
| in bold, capital letters, in at least 12-point type on the online | ||
| dating service provider's Internet website. | ||
| Sec. 106.005. DISCLOSURES BY PROVIDER THAT CONDUCTS | ||
| CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECKS. (a) An online dating service provider | ||
| that offers services to residents of this state and conducts a | ||
| criminal background check on each member before permitting a Texas | ||
| member to communicate through the provider with another member | ||
| shall clearly and conspicuously disclose to all Texas members that | ||
| the provider conducts a criminal background check, as described by | ||
| Section 106.003, on each member before permitting a Texas member to | ||
| communicate through the provider with another member. | ||
| (b) An online dating service provider that offers services | ||
| to residents of this state and conducts a criminal background check | ||
| on each member shall include on the provider's Internet website: | ||
| (1) a statement of whether the provider excludes from | ||
| its online dating service all persons identified as having been | ||
| convicted of: | ||
| (A) a felony offense; | ||
| (B) an offense the conviction or adjudication of | ||
| which requires registration as a sex offender under Chapter 62, | ||
| Code of Criminal Procedure; or | ||
| (C) an offense for which an affirmative finding | ||
| of family violence was made under Article 42.013, Code of Criminal | ||
| Procedure; | ||
| (2) a statement of the number of years of a member's | ||
| criminal history that is included in a criminal background check; | ||
| and | ||
| (3) a statement that: | ||
| (A) criminal background checks are not | ||
| foolproof; | ||
| (B) criminal background checks may give members a | ||
| false sense of security; | ||
| (C) criminal background checks are not a perfect | ||
| safety solution; | ||
| (D) criminals may circumvent even the most | ||
| sophisticated search technology; | ||
| (E) not all criminal records are public in all | ||
| states and not all databases are up to date; | ||
| (F) only publicly available convictions are | ||
| included in the criminal background check; and | ||
| (G) the criminal background check does not cover | ||
| other types of convictions than convictions for offenses described | ||
| by Section 106.003(a) or any convictions from foreign countries. | ||
| (c) A disclosure required by Subsection (a) must be stated | ||
| in bold, capital letters in at least 12-point type on the online | ||
| dating service provider's Internet website. | ||
| Sec. 106.006. SAFETY AWARENESS DISCLOSURE BY ALL PROVIDERS. | ||
| An online dating service provider that offers services to residents | ||
| of this state shall clearly and conspicuously provide a safety | ||
| awareness notification on the provider's Internet website that | ||
| includes a list and description of safety measures reasonably | ||
| designed to increase awareness of safer online dating practices. | ||
| Examples of the safety awareness notification include the following | ||
| statements or substantially similar statements: | ||
| (1) "Anyone who is able to commit identity theft can | ||
| also falsify a dating profile."; | ||
| (2) "There is no substitute for acting with caution | ||
| when communicating with any stranger who wants to meet you."; | ||
| (3) "Never include your last name, e-mail address, | ||
| home address, phone number, place of work, or any other identifying | ||
| information in your Internet profile or initial e-mail messages. | ||
| Stop communicating with anyone who pressures you for personal or | ||
| financial information or attempts in any way to trick you into | ||
| revealing it."; and | ||
| (4) "If you choose to have a face-to-face meeting with | ||
| another member, always tell someone in your family or a friend where | ||
| you are going and when you will return. Never agree to be picked up | ||
| at your home. Always provide your own transportation to and from | ||
| your date and meet in a public place with many people around." | ||
| Sec. 106.007. CIVIL PENALTY; INJUNCTION. (a) An online | ||
| dating service provider who violates this chapter is liable to the | ||
| state for a civil penalty in an amount not to exceed $250 for each | ||
| Texas member registered with the online dating service provider | ||
| during the time of the violation. | ||
| (b) The attorney general may: | ||
| (1) seek an injunction to prevent or restrain a | ||
| violation of this chapter; or | ||
| (2) bring suit to recover the civil penalty imposed | ||
| under Subsection (a). | ||
| (c) The attorney general may recover reasonable expenses | ||
| incurred in obtaining an injunction or civil penalty under this | ||
| section, including court costs and reasonable attorney's fees. | ||
| Sec. 106.008. NO PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION. This chapter does | ||
| not create a private right of action. | ||
| SECTION 2. Not later than September 1, 2011, an online | ||
| dating service provider must comply with Chapter 106, Business & | ||
| Commerce Code, as added by this Act, with respect to each person who | ||
| is using the provider's service on that date. | ||
| SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011. | ||
| ______________________________ | ______________________________ | |
| President of the Senate | Speaker of the House | |
| I hereby certify that S.B. No. 488 passed the Senate on | ||
| March 24, 2011, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0. | ||
| ______________________________ | ||
| Secretary of the Senate | ||
| I hereby certify that S.B. No. 488 passed the House on | ||
| April 26, 2011, by the following vote: Yeas 135, Nays 12, two | ||
| present not voting. | ||
| ______________________________ | ||
| Chief Clerk of the House | ||
| Approved: | ||
| ______________________________ | ||
| Date | ||
| ______________________________ | ||
| Governor | ||
