(Online Dating Industry Journal) This week, Online Dating Magazine publisher Joe Tracy weighed in once again on the issue of background check legislation in his "Inside the Industry" column. In response to the Illinois House passing a bill to require background checks or a message on dating sites telling members that they don't require background checks, Tracy made mention of the reasons why a similar bill did not pass in Virginia last year. From the article:
In Virginia's case, perhaps committee member Chap Petersen (Virginia Democrat from Fairfax) put it best when he told the Washington Post, "To think that you require a criminal background check is a little over the top. I think there's been some nightmarish stories, but I don't think that is unique to Internet dating. I felt like it was, frankly, overregulation and not an area where the government needs to jump in with both feet."
Overregulation is exactly what a bill like the one in Illinois would create. But it would also create an environment where the little guys (i.e. niche sites) would greatly struggle.
The article details the pros and cons of background checks, indicating that the cons dramatically outweigh the pros for reasons such as a false sense of security for members, lack of consistency, and increased cost to members.
Kim's Comments:
I was surprised to hear in the article that even the ACLU has made public acknowledgment that background checks are flawed. The ACLU data privacy expert went so far as to call background check services a "defective product". That pretty much says it all there. People are going to be misled into thinking that everyone on these dating sites have passed a background check. I think that may be my biggest problem...an average dating service member who has not been following this story will be taken advantage of. That member will not only have to pay more for a service with background checks, but will also falsely assume it is more safe than any other service when, in reality, there is always a potential risk. Effort should be put into making members aware of the flawed system behind background checks.
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