56:8-171 - Requirements for Internet dating services
56:8-171 Requirements for Internet dating services.
4.An Internet dating service offering services to New Jersey members shall:
a.Provide safety awareness notification that includes, at minimum, a list and description of safety measures reasonably designed to increase awareness of safer dating practices as determined by the service. Examples of such notifications include:
(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."
(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."
b.If an Internet dating service does not conduct criminal background screenings on its members, the service shall disclose, clearly and conspicuously, to all New Jersey members that the Internet dating service does not conduct criminal background screenings. The disclosure shall be provided in two or more of the following forms: when an electronic mail message is sent or received by a New Jersey member, in a "click-through" or other similar presentation requiring a member from this State to acknowledge that they have received the information required by this act, on the profile describing a member to a New Jersey member, and on the web-site pages or homepage of the Internet dating service used when a New Jersey member signs up. A disclosure under this subsection shall be in bold, capital letters in at least 12-point type.
c.If an Internet dating service conducts criminal background screenings on all of its communicating members, then the service shall disclose, clearly and conspicuously, to all New Jersey members that the Internet dating service conducts a criminal background screening on each member prior to permitting a New Jersey member to communicate with another member. The disclosure shall be provided on the website pages used when a New Jersey member signs up. A disclosure under this subsection shall be in bold, capital letters in at least 12-point type.
d.If an Internet dating service conducts criminal background screenings, then the service shall disclose whether it has a policy allowing a member who has been identified as having a criminal conviction to have access to its service to communicate with any New Jersey member; shall state that criminal background screenings are not foolproof; that they may give members a false sense of security; that they are not a perfect safety solution; that criminals may circumvent even the most sophisticated search technology; that not all criminal records are public in all states and not all databases are up to date; that only publicly available convictions are included in the screening; and that screenings do not cover other types of convictions or arrests or any convictions from foreign countries.
L.2007, c.272, s.4.