This bill requires online dating service providers to notify a member if that member received a message from another account that the provider has banned for suspected fraud. The notification must say the banned account's username or profile identifier and the most recent time the two members exchanged a message. It must state the banned account may have used a false identity or tried to defraud others, warn members not to send money or personal financial information, offer best-practice fraud-avoidance information (for example by link), and give customer service contact information.
Notifications must be clear and conspicuous and sent by email, text, or another method the member has agreed to. Providers must generally send the notification within 24 hours of initiating a fraud ban. A provider may delay up to 3 days if the provider judges that is needed. If law enforcement asks for a delay because of an investigation, the provider must wait through that delay and send the notice within 3 days after the delay ends.
The bill limits civil liability for providers for how they send the notice, the timing of notices, and what is disclosed in the notice. It treats violations as unfair or deceptive acts under the Federal Trade Commission Act and gives the Federal Trade Commission authority to enforce the rule. State attorneys general and other state consumer protection officers may bring civil actions in certain circumstances but must generally notify the FTC first; if the FTC brings a federal action, states cannot bring an action against the same defendants while that federal action is pending. The bill also makes a single national standard: states may not require, prohibit, or otherwise regulate how dating services notify members about banned accounts, though the bill does not preempt state contract or tort law.
Definitions in the bill include what counts as an online dating service, a member, a banned member, and a fraud ban. The section takes effect one year after the date the Act becomes law.
No publicly available information.
Sponsors listed in the bill metadata: Marsha Blackburn, John Hickenlooper, Raphael Warnock, Rick Scott. No publicly available information on the sponsors' statements or detailed arguments in the bill text or provided metadata.
No publicly available information.