From Rich Gosse, founder of the International Association of Dating Websites:
Last week the Michigan Senate Judiciary Committee passed a bill that would require dating websites to conduct criminal background checks or post a very large notice on their homepages saying that they do not conduct these checks. As you know, The International Association of Dating Websites is strongly opposed to this proposed legislation. Therefore, we have sent the following letter to all 38 members of the Michigan State Senate. We hope you will take the time to do likewise. Special interest legislation such as HB 6234 has no place in American government.
Cordially,
Rich Gosse
Founder, IADW (www.iadw.org)
——————-
Dear Senator (name of Senator)
The International Association of Dating Websites (IADW), a non-profit trade association for the online dating industry, is opposed to HB 6234, which requires online dating services to conduct criminal background checks or to provide certain notices, which was recently passed, by a 4-3 vote, by the Michigan Senate Judiciary Committee.
The bill is unfair to the online dating industry. No other websites are required to do this, nor are offline dating services, matchmakers, speed dating, non-profit singles organizations, newspaper personal ads, etc. Only a tiny percentage of the many hundreds of thousands of organizations and associations in America do criminal backgorund checks. So why single out the online dating industry?
Certainly it is is important for people to be careful when meeting strangers, whether it be for business or social purposes. This is common sense and does not require legislation.
IADW believes that every dating website should caution its members about safety issues. But requiring a criminal background check would be costly. One of the main reasons that the online dating industry is able to provide quality service to so many millions of singles is because the process is inexpensive. Criminal background checks can easily double the cost, making it too pricey for millions of singles. Offering background checks as an option (at additional cost) is the proper way to address this issue. There are several websites that already offer this option, so there is no need for legislation.
We urge you to vote no on HB 6234.
Sincerely,
Rich Gosse
Founder, IADW
415/479-3800
