Illinois General Assembly - Bill Status for HB0563

Creates the Internet Dating Disclosure and Safety Awareness Act. Requires an online dating service provider offering services to residents of this State to disclose clearly and conspicuously, to any member who provides a billing address or a zip code in this State when registering with the provider, that the online dating provider either initiates a background check of felony and sex offense convictions on each member prior to permitting any member to communicate with a member in this State or that the online dating service provider does not initiate such a background check. Provides language concerning the disclosures. Requires an online dating service provider that conducts criminal background checks to post a safety awareness notification and provides required language for that notification. Provides that failure to comply with the disclosure requirements of the Act shall constitute an unlawful business practice under the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act. Provides that each failure to provide the required disclosure constitutes a separate violation. Provides for civil penalties. Creates the Internet Dating Disclosure and Safety Awareness Act Fund as a special fund in the State treasury, to be used by the Office of the Attorney General for enforcement of the Act. Amends the State Finance Act and the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act to make conforming changes. Amends the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act.

Deletes everything after the enacting clause. Creates the Internet Predator Awareness Act. Requires an online dating service provider offering services to Illinois members to: (i) provide a safety awareness notification; (ii) inform members whether or not the online dating service provider conducts criminal background screenings on its members; and (iii) if an online dating service provider conducts criminal background screenings, disclose that background screenings of applicants are not perfect and there is no way to guarantee that the name provided by a person to be used in a background screening is the person's true identity. Amends the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act to make a violation of the Internet Predator Awareness Act a violation of the Act. Effective January 1, 2008.

Deletes everything after the enacting clause. Creates the Internet Dating Disclosure and Safety Awareness Act. Requires an online dating service provider offering services to residents of this State to disclose clearly and conspicuously, to any member who provides a billing address or a zip code in this State when registering with the provider, that the online dating provider initiates a sex offender registrant search of sex offender registrations on each member prior to permitting any member to communicate with a member in this State or that the online dating service provider does not initiate such a sex offender registrant search. Provides that a sex offender registrant search is conducted by searching the available updated sex offender registries in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. Provides language concerning the disclosures. Requires that an online dating service provider that conducts sex offender registrant searches post a safety awareness notification and provides required language for that notification. Provides that failure to comply with the disclosure requirements of the Act shall constitute an unlawful business practice under the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act. Provides that each failure to provide the required disclosure constitutes a separate violation. Amends the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act. Adds the Internet Dating Disclosure and Safety Awareness Act to the list of Acts that the knowing violation of which constitutes an unlawful business practice.

Deletes everything after the enacting clause and re-inserts provisions similar to those of House Amendment No. 2 with these changes: deletes the text of one of the disclosures required to be made by an online dating service provider that does conduct sex offender registrant searches; deletes some of the requirements regarding safety awareness notifications and some of the text of the required statement; provides that an Internet service provider does not violate the Internet Dating Disclosure and Safety Awarness Act as a result (instead of solely as a result) of serving as an intermediary for transmission of electronic messages; makes technical and other changes.

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