2023 Colorado Revised Statutes › Title 6 - CONSUMER AND COMMERCIAL AFFAIRS (§§ 6-1-101 — 6-28-102) › FAIR TRADE AND RESTRAINT OF TRADE (§§ 6-1-101 — 6-6.5-101) › Article 1 - COLORADO CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT (§§ 6-1-101 — 6-1-1707) › Part 7 - SPECIFIC PROVISIONS (§§ 6-1-701 — 6-1-736) › Section 6-1-731.5 - [Effective 8/7/2024] Online dating services - deceptive trade practice - policy required - report - rules - definitions

(1)
As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires:
(a)
"Member" and "member in this state" have the same meaning set forth in section 6-1-731.
(b)
"Misconduct that threatens public or personal safety" means an act, threatened act, or attempted act of homicide, unlawful sexual behavior, assault, kidnapping, stalking, harassment, involuntary intoxication, robbery, theft, or any other conduct that threatens public or another person's safety.
(c)
"Online dating service" has the same meaning set forth in section 6-1-731.
(d)
"Online dating service contract" has the same meaning set forth in section 6-1-731.
(e)
"Remedial action" means suspending the member's profile from the service, barring the member from the service, or providing actual notice that it received a report of prohibited content and conduct to other members who have had contact on the service with the member who was the subject of the reports.
(f)
"Safety policy" means an online dating service's safety policy required in subsection (2) of this section.
(2)
An online dating service shall adopt a safety policy that complies with this subsection (2). An online dating service that has a member located in this state on the effective date of this section shall make the safety policy effective on or before January 1, 2025. An online dating service that registers its first member in this state after the effective date of this section shall make the safety policy effective one year after it registers its first member in this state. The safety policy must include the following:
(a)
A description of prohibited content and conduct used by the online dating service, which must include misconduct that threatens public or personal safety.
(b)
A statement of whether and under what circumstances the online dating service conducts a criminal background screening of members and whether the online dating service excludes as a member a person who is found to have a criminal conviction and, if so, which types of criminal convictions result in exclusion;
(c)
A description of whether and when the online dating service verifies a member's identity or that the member is at least eighteen years of age;
(d)
A description of whether and when the online dating service suspends a member's profile from the service as a result of reports of prohibited content and conduct committed by the member received by the online dating service and the circumstances under which the online dating service bars a member from the online dating service as a result of received reports;
(e)
A description of whether the online dating service permits a member who was suspended or barred as a result of reports of prohibited content and conduct committed by the member to appeal the adverse action and, if the online dating service permits an appeal, the appeal process;
(f)
A description of whether and when the online dating service, after receiving a report of prohibited content and conduct committed by a Member, provides actual notice that it received the report to other members who have had contact with the member who was the subject of the report and, if so, the types of content and conduct that result in providing a notice and the process for providing the notice;
(g)
Clear guidelines for reporting to the online dating service prohibited content and conduct committed by a member against another member. The guidelines must warn members not to submit false reports or report for malicious, biased, or other illegitimate reasons.
(h)
A notice that engaging in sexual conduct with another person without the other person's consent violates the safety policy, is against the law, and may result in criminal or civil liability;
(i)
Information about resources available for members in Colorado who experience sexual assault, domestic violence, and other crimes; and
(j)
A list of safety measures taken by the platform that are reasonably designed to promote safer online and in-person dating experiences for members.
(3)
An online dating service shall post a clear and conspicuous link to the service's safety policy on the main page of its website and on the settings, or a similar screen, of its mobile application, if applicable, and include a link to the safety policy in a dating service contract described in section 6-1-731. The text of each link must explicitly inform a Colorado member that the link navigates the member to the online dating service's safety policy.
(4)
(a)
An online dating service shall submit the URL for its safety policy posted on its website to the attorney general's office within fifteen days after enacting the safety policy. If an online dating service updates the URL for its safety policy, it shall submit the updated URL to the attorney general's office within seven days after updating the URL.
(b)
On or before January 31, 2026, and on or before January 31 of each year thereafter, an online dating service shall submit an annual report to the attorney general's office concerning member safety and the Online dating service's compliance with this section. The report must include the information required by the rules promulgated pursuant to this section.
(c)
The report required pursuant to subsection (4)(b) of this section is only required to include information about a member located in, or reports made by a member located in, Colorado, if that information is available. If that information is not available, the report must include information from the entire United States.
(4.5)
The attorney general shall promulgate rules to carry out this section. The rules may include the process for an online dating service to submit to the attorney general's office the URL for its safety policy.
(5)
The attorney general's office shall post on a public page of its website a link to each safety policy and each annual report filed with the office pursuant to subsection (4) of this section by each online dating service.
(6)
Prior to commencing an enforcement action pursuant to this article 1 against an online dating service that registers its first member in this state after the effective date of this section for the service's first violation of this section, the attorney general or a district attorney must issue a notice of violation to the online dating service if the attorney general or district attorney determines that it is possible for the online dating service to cure the violation. If the online dating service fails to cure the violation within thirty days of receiving the notice of violation, the attorney general or district attorney may bring an enforcement action pursuant to this article 1.
(7)
(a)
Nothing in this section alters the scope of the federal "Communications Decency Act of 1996", 47 U.S.C. sec. 230.
(b)
Nothing in this section limits any rights or remedies of an injured party that are available under Colorado law nor removes any remedies available to an injured person prior to the effective date of this section.
(c)
An online dating service is not liable to a barred or suspended member for taking, in good faith, remedial action in accordance with its membership agreement against a member for violating the service's safety policy.
Added by 2024 Ch. 402,§ 2, eff. 8/7/2024, app. to offenses committed and claims filed on or after 8/7/2024.
2024 Ch. 402, was passed without a safety clause. See Colo. Const. art. V, § 1(3).