§ 13-67-104 — Safety awareness disclosures.

(1) An online dating service provider that offers services to residents of this state shall clearly and conspicuously provide a safety awareness notification to all Utah members that includes a list of safety measures reasonably designed to increase awareness of safer online dating practices and clear guidelines and resources for reporting crimes committed by an online dating service member.
(2) (2)(a) A safety awareness notification described in Subsection (1) shall:
(2)(a)(i) have a heading or headings substantially similar to:

(2)(a)(i)(A) "Online Dating Safety Awareness";
(2)(a)(i)(B) "Protecting Yourself from Sexual Assault and Dating Violence"; and
(2)(a)(i)(C) "Protecting Yourself from Financial Crimes"; and
(2)(a)(ii) include information relevant to member safety awareness, including the following or substantially similar information, which may be revised or updated to reflect current information and best safety practices:

(2)(a)(ii)(A) a notice that engaging in sexual conduct without the other person's consent is a criminal act and subject to prosecution;
(2)(a)(ii)(B) an advisory that getting to know an individual through an online dating service may be risky and a member should follow safety precautions when sharing information or meeting in person;
(2)(a)(ii)(C) an advisory that a member should avoid sharing the member's last name, email address, home address, phone number, place of work, social security number, details of the member's daily routine, or other identifying information in the member's dating profile or initial email messages or communications;
(2)(a)(ii)(D) an advisory that a member should stop communicating with an individual who pressures the member for personal or financial information or attempts to trick the member into revealing personal or financial information;
(2)(a)(ii)(E) an advisory that a member should not send money to an individual the member meets on an online dating service, especially by wire transfer, even if the individual claims to be experiencing an emergency;
(2)(a)(ii)(F) an advisory that if a member decides to meet another member in person, the member should tell someone in the member's family or a friend where the member is going and when the member is planning to return;
(2)(a)(ii)(G) an advisory that a member should provide the member's own transportation to and from an in-person date and meet in a public place with many people around;
(2)(a)(ii)(H) an advisory that an individual may provide false information in a dating profile;
(2)(a)(ii)(I) a notice that a member should block and report to the online dating service a member whose behavior is suspicious, offensive, harassing, threatening, fraudulent, or involves a request for money or an attempt to sell a product or service;
(2)(a)(ii)(J) a request that if a member is the victim or survivor of sexual or intimate partner violence or a financial crime through someone the member met on the online dating service, the member should report the incident to the online dating service and to law enforcement;
(2)(a)(ii)(K) a notice that if a member is the victim or survivor of sexual or intimate partner violence or a financial crime through someone the member met on the online dating service, the member is not to blame and may seek support through national or local hotlines and services; and
(2)(a)(ii)(L) an advisory that reporting criminal activity by another member may help prevent a perpetrator of a rape, assault, or financial crime from hurting or continuing to hurt others, and may be necessary for an online dating service to take responsive action against the member who perpetrated the crime.
(2)(b) (2)(b)(i) An online dating service provider shall provide a clear and conspicuous method for a Utah member to contact the online dating service provider to report a member who engages in an act of sexual or intimate partner violence, a financial crime, or other misconduct.
(2)(b)(ii) An online dating service provider shall include the information described in Subsection (2)(b)(i) in the safety awareness notification described in Subsection (1).
(3) An online dating service provider that provides the notification required under this section shall give the notification at the time a Utah member registers with the online dating service provider and by way of a link on the online dating service provider's main website or mobile application.

Legislative History

Enacted by Chapter 31, 2023 General Session