BUSINESS WEEK — May 9 — The founder and CEO of True.com, Vest has been pushing several state legislatures to pass a bill mandating that all online-dating sites do background checks on their members or carry a disclaimer if they choose not to. The legislation has been proposed in California, Michigan, Texas, and Virginia, but so far has gained the most momentum in Florida, but it ran out of time. Match.com, Yahoo, Microsoft, and others are against it. The American Civil Liberties Union contend it violates members’ privacy. Vest and Republican state legislators — John Carona, Texas, Alan Cropsey of Michigan, and Ambler of Florida — believe the Internet’s current anonymity lulls people into a false sense of security. Legislators point out that some 180 organizations have come out in favor of the bill, including local sheriff’s offices and victims’ support groups. Before starting True.com, Vest owned a financial firm called HD Vest, a network of independent accountants who also gave financial-planning advice. In the early 1990s, it was either illegal or against accounting rules to take commissions in 40 out of 50 states. Vest ignored the rules. The FTC backed Vest’s stance and the American Institute of CPAs reversed its anticommission stance, causing many of the states to follow suit. Vest’s firm prospered and was sold to Wells Fargo in 2001 for $127 million. No matter what happens on the state level with background checks, Vest aims to be a thorn in the online-dating industry’s side for years to come.
The full article was originally published at Business Week, but is no longer available.
great idea to have online dating sites to do background checks.