Do online daters get what they pay for?
June 29, 2010 by Valerie HelmbreckPosted in: Budgets and spending, Compliance, In this week's e-newsletter, Latest News & Views, cybercrime, e-commerce
The next business that could come under regulators’ scrutiny: online dating. These sites attract plenty of folks just looking for love, but a few real creeps have started migrating there as well.
Just recently, it was discovered that a convicted killer, awaiting trial for yet another murder, had posted a profile on Match.com. The guy’s profile was removed after the site owners began getting heat for the incident. But it left many wondering if anybody’s doing background checks on the folks who register with these sites.
The answer, in many cases, is no. They don’t have to, and it’s a big hassle. New Jersey passed a law in 2008 requiring dating sites that don’t perform criminal background checks to prominently disclose the fact on their sites.
But so far, there’s no law out there to require it in any state.
The old adages, “Buyer Beware,” “You get what you pay for,” and “In ‘as is’ condition” would seem to apply to this area of e-commerce.
Online dating is something of a money factory. The industry’s projected to generate $834 million in revenue this year, and it’s growing. In 2008, the industry cranked out more than $600 million in revenue.
What are customers getting for their money? Not much security, it seems. But many legislators are bogged down with more pressing problems than the difficult love lives of their constituents. A bill similar to the one in New Jersey was proposed in Texas, but never got out of committee.
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Tags: background checks, killer, match.com, online dating
July 6th, 2010 at 9:42 am
Come on people. Give me a break. Do any of the users of online dating sites think they are doing background checks? I don’t think so. After all, nobody checked them out when they did their profile. Do they think they are the only one? Of course not. Any reasonable person knows that the online dating sites are simply giving people a forum to meet. Should bars do background checks when people meet there? Should people’s friends do background checks before introducing people? Should church singles groups do background checks before letting people in? In case you have to think about those answers let me give you the correct one….NO.
Just like with any other situation in which you are meeting new people it is you, the individual, who is responsible for protecting yourself. No nanny legislation can do it for you and you are a fool if you expect them to or if you think it would help.