Do ads on the web really help you find the right person and
in the process save you from a lot of bad dates?
- There are 100 million single people in this country looking
for the right companion.
- Statistics show that on a date, that 79% of men decide how interested
they are in their date in the first 15 minutes of that date.
- If they don’t call you back within a day after that
first date, there is only a 1 in 8 chance that they will call you
for a second date.
- So instead of being limited to the dating pool in your area, on
the web you can search out your soul mate around the world.
Are these sites regulated by privacy laws?
Filling out questionnaires and personality profiles on an internet
dating service means that you are sharing a lot of personal information.
The Federal Trade Commission has several regulations that are meant
to keep you information private. But you need to read the dating services
privacy policy.
Let’s say that an online dating service is just careless,
can they be responsible in a lawsuit for harassment or damages. For
example, let’s say that someone uses a friends name and number,
and then the friend starts getting unwanted calls or e-mails. Can
that the friend sue the online provider for harassment or damages?
Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act passed in 1996 has been
interpreted to provide immunity to web sites for tort liability.
However, a recent case in federal court in California suggested that
if the provider gets actively involved in trying to match people up,
then they may be liable for damages.
Should online dating services be required to perform
background checks to eliminate sexual predators?
Six states (California, Florida, Michigan, Ohio, Texas, Virginia)are considering
laws making background checks mandatory. What is interesting,
is that if a dating service represents that it has conducted a background
check and then introduces you to someone who turns out to be
- a sexual
predator
- or has a record of restraining orders,
then the immunity from suit is gone, and they subject to suit.
If you have been looking for love in all the wrong places,
then you may want to try to internet.
You may be one click away from finding your soul mate.
