N.Y. General Business Law § 394-cc: Internet dating safety

§ 394-cc. Internet dating safety. 1. As used in this section, the

following terms shall have the following meanings:

(a) "internet dating service" means a person or entity directly or

indirectly in the business, for profit, of offering, promoting or

providing access to dating, relationship, compatibility, matrimonial or

social referral services principally on or through the internet.

(b) "internet service provider" means any person, business or

organization qualified to do business in this state that provides

individuals, corporations, or other entities with the ability to connect

to the internet through equipment that is located in this state.

(c) "member" means a customer, client or participant who submits to an

internet dating service information required to access the service for

the purpose of engaging in dating, relationship, compatibility,

matrimonial or social referral.

(d) "New York member" means a member who provides an in-state billing

address or zip code when registering with the service.

2. An internet dating service offering services to New York members

shall provide safety awareness notification that includes, at minimum, a

list and description of safety measures reasonably designed to increase

awareness of safer dating practices in a clear and conspicuous manner.

Such notification shall include, but not be limited to, the following

statements or substantially similar statements:

(a) "There is no substitute for acting with caution when communicating

with any stranger who wants to meet you."

(b) "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."

(c) "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."

Such notification shall be given at the time a New York member

registers with the service and by way of a link on the main website, or

the first entry point, of the service.

3. (a) The attorney general may bring an action against an internet

dating service that violates the provisions of this section:

(i) to enjoin further violation of the provisions of this section; and

(ii) to recover up to two hundred fifty dollars for each New York

member registered with the internet dating service during the time

period that the internet dating service was in violation of this

section.

(b) In an action under subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (a) of this

subdivision, a court may increase the damages up to three times the

damages allowed by such paragraph where the defendant has been found to

have engaged in a pattern and practice of violating the provisions of

this section.

(c) No internet dating service shall be deemed to have violated the

provisions of this section if such internet dating service shows, by a

preponderance of the evidence, that the violation was not intentional

and resulted from a bona fide error made notwithstanding the maintenance

of procedures reasonably adopted to avoid such error.

(d) Nothing in this section shall be construed to restrict any right

which any person may have under any other statute or common law.

4. An internet service provider does not violate this section solely

as a result of serving as an intermediary for the transmission of

electronic messages between members of an internet dating service.