MIAMI
HERALD -- Apr 27 -- Love is supposed to steal your heart not your car.
The background checks bill passed the Florida Senate Criminal Justice
Committee Tuesday but still must be scheduled for a floor vote in the
waning days of the session. Although True.com has pushed similar legislation in six other states, no other bill has made it this far. ''I've got complete confidence that True is going to run this thing through,'' said Mark Brooks, the editor of Online Personal Watch, who has been monitoring the bill's progress. "But the industry certainly doesn't like the idea that it's being rammed down their throats." While
True.com says it's simply trying to make online dating safer, critics
accuse the newcomer, which has 3 million members, of using the
legislation to stake out more turf in a crowded and lucrative
industry. Said Kristin Kelly, senior director of PR at
Match.com. "It's bad for the industry because it continues to
promote a stigma that's not accurate.'' True's CEO Herb Vest
said, "we don't want criminals and married people preying on our
members. There are close to 70 million singles out there that are
not using online dating sites right now. If we can let them know that,
as an industry, we care about their safety then we're all going to grow
at a prodigious rate.'' The Florida DOC database hasn't been
updated since August of last year and Rapsheets only searches 15 of the
state's 67 counties. Two Miami online dating sites -- Webdate.com and Date.com-- said they will be offering their clients background checks,
regardless of the bill's outcome. ''I think background checks are
a relatively good idea, if done properly,'' said Webdate COO Abe
Smilowitz. FULL ARTICLE @ MIAMI HERALD

Mark Brooks:
True is leaning on the Florida bill with all it's might, connections
and savvy. The session ends Friday 6th May. Watch this
space! I'll keep you posted.