Arizona Governor Signs Online Dating Bill Into Law

Governor Doug Ducey of Arizona just signed into law a bill that requires online dating companies to inform their users when they have communicated with potential scammers, according to a report from Fox 10 News.

The bill HB2396 was sponsored by Republican lawmaker Regina Cobb of Kingman, Arizona, and requires dating services to inform its members if someone they had been in contact with was banned for a suspected scam, in an effort to reduce abusive and criminal activity on dating apps. These companies were previously prohibited from doing so.

The law requires the notice to be sent my mail or email, and according to Fox News 10 in Phoenix, it also provides immunity for dating app companies to prevent them from being sued.

This new legislation comes after the worst year of fraud in dating app history, spurred by the increasing number of people using dating apps in the wake of the pandemic. The Federal Trade Commission recently reported that the total amount of stolen funds on dating apps in 2020 was estimated to be $304 million, or about $2,500 per victim. This was double the amount stolen from dating app users in 2019. Cobb said in the hearing that Arizonans lost about $8 million in 2018 alone to online dating scams.

HB2396 passed unanimously in both the State House and Senate and was ultimately signed by Ducey in late March. 

Ryan O’Daniel represented Match.com in the hearings about the bill according to Arizona Capitol Times, telling lawmakers that dating sites already have good protections to prohibit conversations that will lead to money scams and fraud. More typically, he noted, the scammers want to move their victims off dating apps like Match and on to other platforms like Snapchat or even to text messaging. 

“What we’ll see frequently is scammers sign up or fraudsters sign up for an account,” he said according to the Capitol Times. “They’ll send out a bunch of messages to a bunch of different members. As soon as they get somebody that’s having that communication with them, they will quickly move them off of our platform.”

Still, fraud and catfishing are rampant problems on dating apps. The new law aims to protect users even after they have moved off dating platforms by requiring the dating app service to reach out within 24 hours to anyone who has been in contact with that person, letting them know that the accused is subject to a “fraud ban.” The information will include any identifying information, including the username, so the victim will be able to identify them, according to The Capitol Times.

Ducey called the new legislation “responsible criminal justice reform,” and lawmakers hope it will better protect online daters.