2023 New York Laws › GBS - General Business › Article 26 - Miscellaneous › 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.