Thanks to Micahel P at AVG Sports for letting us know about this.

The Maryland State legislature is well on their way to enacting legislation regulating online dating. The measures were intended originally to be similar to the US VAWA Act of 2005 (Violence Against Women Act). Unlike the Federal VAWA Act, the Maryland legislation as it currently stands as written is far more overreaching and radically affects online dating and many social networking sites.

See for yourself:

Full Text: Maryland House Bill HB 65 - Current Status (Webmaster Note: INSERTED AFTER APRIL 5 - PASSED VERSION


Full Text: Maryland Senate Bill SB 129 - Current Status (Webmaster Note: INSERTED AFTER APRIL 5 - PASSED VERSION


The problem lies with the definition of "International Marriage Broker"



This is again, potentially serious and deadly to the industry. It targets the wrong group and is unfortunately mal-intended.

Marc Lesnick
Conference Organizer
Interent Dating Conference

Thanks, Marc, for starting this topic.

IMBRA became federal law in 2006 and our organization has been struggling to inform the public about it and to advocate against it. IMBRA was designed to regulate only mom and pop international dating companies, but in fact by definition it includes some or all of the big boys. No one has noticed this, however, because neither DOS or DHS has begun enforcing the law, other than asking fiance and marriage visa applicants how they met.

This year we witnessed the State of Maryland attempt to pass a more restrictive law, and the current definition more clearly includes the big companies. We are struggling against it and have been joined by many rational Maryland men and women who realize that the law goes too far, is unconstititional, etc.

But as this law is being made right now by amendments (it already passed the House and Senate, albeit in different forms), it could end up stronger or weaker.

We have monitored the womens' groups that advocated for IMBRA and now for the MD law and they have an ambitious agenda to increase regulation of online dating. These groups get millions of dollars in federal aid, corp and foundation grants, and their continued existence and growth depends on getting legislators to approve more regulation of online dating.

More importantly are the new standards of civil liability created by these sorts of laws. Clever plaintiff's attorneys can and will argue after an online dater is hurt or killed by another online dater, that the MD law requiring criminal background checks is a reasonable standard that should have been followed and since it was not and a murder occured, the dating company is liable. And it won't matter if the legislature included some dating companies and excluded others, as the jury will likely be convinced that any statutory standard is reasonable for any dating company.

Our organization has been on top of this social, legal and political trend since IMBRA was signed into law in January 2006 and we will continue to fight the encroachment of personal liberties inherent in these laws. We think that any online dating business that cares about its future should take these issues very, very seriously.

www.onlinedatingrights.com

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Tristan Laurent,
Online Dating Rights

Attention ! Urgent update. We need people to show up and present testimony favoring International dating after a stunning new development regarding a second hearing to be held at the MD General Assembly in Annapolis, MD in the near future. This law was being rifled through the MD Legislature and passed the Senate and House unanimously, but suddenly there was a firestorm of controversy that caught the legislators completely off guard. We have a second chance!

If you value the principles of honesty, fairness and the Constitution , regardless of your state of residence, we are asking your assistance. We need single men and women, married couples, or anyone with a desire to discuss the topic of International dating in a positive light. You can make a difference and help defeat this horrific law! The ideal person should be able to speak clearly and politely for 3-5 minutes. We'll even draft your words and ideas for you to make it easy.

Your rights to communicate and date a person of your choosing are about legislated away forever unless we stand up and speak out against this horrific law. The MD law is considered to be a gateway law, that if passed will be the impetus for other states to quickly pass similar legislation soon with more draconian laws to be introduced later.

This law is far worse and more obtrusive than the federal IMBRA law. and represents the ever increasing and always more insane minor transgressions that are being cooked up by various special interests groups with lots of money and hidden agenda. This is just the very beginning. Stand up now or forever hold your peace.

For more information please call Michael Parrotte ASAP at 301-305-5050, 301- 695-8004, e mail at michael@agvsports.com or michaelparrotte@yahoo.com

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The MD state IMBRA law is an invasion of privacy that may increase violence against women.

In regards to Friday's hearing, there needs to be ONE voice there that stands for the online dating industry. Having a gaggle of people pounding the table would be counter-productive.

I know that Mark Brooks is looking into this now. I am also told that eHarmony, Yahoo and Match.com are now all aware this is going on.

The only issue any of those firms will have is the removal of Line 13 (Online Dating Sites). All they will want is the exemption re-included. After that, they will walk away.

Adding the exemption will not affect their bottom line and will affect few in the industry.

Marc Lesnick
Conference Organizer
Internet Dating Conference

Links to the current versions of House Bill 65 and Senate Bill 129 are here; they are being conferenced now. http://mlis.state.md.us/2010rs/bills/hb/hb0065t.pdf
http://mlis.state.md.us/2010rs/bills/sb/sb0129t.pdf

They are few differences, one being that the House bill requires the international marriage broker (IMB) to collect fingerprints. The Senate bill asks the Department of Labor and Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services to recommend a registration scheme for IMBs.

Otherwise, by definition of an IMB both bills present risks for the larger US companies, because the exemption that might cover them states that excluded are organizations that do not charge a fee based on gender or country of origin.

To my knowledge, some large companies run promotions, charge different rates to women, offer different services at certain times, in connection with certain dates, etc. I am also aware that recruitment of foreign nationals sometimes comes with free service for a period of time. In either case, the company doing this would fit the definition of an IMB.

In both bills, violation is a criminal offense.

As our organization has been engaged in researching the history of IMBRA and the economic, cultural and political forces that made it possible, we are certain that this trend toward regulation is not going to stop. The upstart womens' groups promoting these laws make too much money in federal and state grants to stop. Already five states regulate international marriage brokers, and I have not studied those laws to see if they are as broad as is the MD law. One women's activist group that specializes in recommending new laws to state legislators promotes dating site regulation. Another group that takes credit for IMBRA gets tons of free legal services from powerhouse law firms like Arnold & Porter and Jones Day. Hmmm, I wonder if law firms could benefit from an expansion of civil liability in the internet dating world that would arise from new criminal laws.

Moreover, the camels nose is now under the tent and the major companies haven't noticed. I am willing to wager that a few years after this bill becomes law, if it does become law, an amendment will be made to the law to get rid of the exemption above and to definitively regulate all online dating, because the next crop of MD legislators eager to score a legislative victory and show how much they care about womens' rights will state the obvious: why are we only protecting foreign women and not also American women?

If Marc's suggestion is correct that there should be one voice opposing this law, that voice should speak up now and contact the voices that are already speaking.

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Tristan Laurent,
Online Dating Rights

The only thing the online dating industry will do is demand the exemption for themselves.

Companies like EuropeanLadies.com and other International Marriage Brokers will have a much tougher battle with this. As the Federal VAWA Act was passed in late 2005, it will make the argument very hard to defeat the bill. Voting against a VAWA-like bill would be extremely unpopular for any represented official.

However, this 'attack' on IMB and now the online dating industry needs more attention. I will have the matter discussed in LA.

Match, eHarmony and Yahoo!Personals need to put political pressure to get the exemption back in, or there will be alot of layoffs in the online dating industry as revenues would plummett.

Marc Lesnick
Conference Organizer
Internet Dating Conference

Michael P at AVG let me know the latest Status:

Maryland Senate Bill SB 129 will be heard by the House Economic Matters Committee on March 24. See: http://mlis.state.md.us/2010rs/billfile/sb0129.htm

If you scroll to the bottom, you will see the recent activity on this bill.

Maryland House Bill HB 65 will be heard by the Senate Finance Committee on a yet to be announced date. Unofficially it will be March 29 or later.

See: http://mlis.state.md.us/2010rs/billfile/HB0065.htm

Marc Lesnick
Conference Organizer
http://www.matchmakingconvention.com

Senate Bill 129 Hearing

The Maryland State legislature recently caused quite an uproar, when a few Maryland locals found out about a proposed Bill, that could potentially render problems for the online dating industry. The International Marriage Brokers Bill was proposed in such a manner that it could have very easily evaded the public eye. However, Maryland local Michael Parrotte, has been hard at work trying to spread the word about the Bills regulations. Parrotte, who has been leading the charge on preventing House Bill 65 and Senate Bill 129, has asked for help from the industry. SB129 is scheduled to be heard by the Economic Matters Committee, on Wednesday, March 24th at 1 p.m. Parrotte will be compiling and delivering letters for anyone who wishes to participate in fighting the Bills. Each person's testimony should have the Bill Number with "support or oppose" (Oppose SB129) (Oppose HB65) in bold on the top right of the first page of the testimony. Testimony should be brief and limited to one page if possible. You can reach Parrotte with your letter VIA email, at michael@agvsport.com.

Michael Parrotte advised the following....



Here is the email from the Maryland state legislature on the subect:

Alot of amendments were made to the final versions of the bill, but both did pass. It looks like to a large degree, someone with common sense slapped some of the Assemblymen and Senators of Maryland off-side the head.

You can read the full text of the Senate version below:

SENATE BILL 129

Areas with a strikeout were removed. The part mentioning online dating was eliminated in an earlier version. They go through alot of amendments just prior to the final vote. (Just like the Federal Health Bill). The Senate version was neutered so that most online dating companies are now exempt. Your company is not exempt if you target specifically foreign nationals to date Maryland State Residents.

The Maryland HOUSE BILL 65 still stands as un-voted. It still does not exempt online dating, leaving the industry exposed. As I understand it, the House did either (A) not vote on the bill or (B) the Maryland Government has not updated the site yet.

Thanks Michael for all your work trying to stop the bill. Your actions protected most of the industry, which is better than none.

Marc Lesnick