Lawmakers Push For Background Checks For Online Daters
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (CBS) -- Illinois lawmakers are pushing for criminal background checks for online daters.
As WBBM Newsradio's Pat Cassidy reports, the Illinois State Senate passed legislation by a vote of 42-9 Wednesday that would require online dating sites to say whether they perform criminal background checks on prospective member. Any service that does conduct background checks would have to use government databases such as criminal court records and sex offender registries, the Chicago Tribune reported.
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The site would also have to admit if someone with a criminal background signs up, the Tribune reported.
The legislation would require sites to post safety tips, including the caveat that background checks aren't foolproof, the Tribune reported.
Any site that fails to follow the rules would be fined $50,000 per violation under the law, the Tribune reported.
State Sen. Kwame Raoul (D-Chicago) voted against the bill. He said it is tantamount to trying to legislate people's dating patterns and relationships, the Tribune reported.
Raoul was quoted in the Tribune, "We're not mom and dad here in the legislature."
The bill now moves to the State House of Representatives, where similar legislation has passed out of committee before, the Tribune reported.
