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Texas Statutes (Last Updated: January 4, 2014) |
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BUSINESS AND COMMERCE CODE |
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Title 5. REGULATION OF BUSINESSES AND SERVICES |
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Subtitle C. BUSINESS OPERATIONS |
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Chapter 106. INTERNET DATING SAFETY ACT |
Sec. 106.005. DISCLOSURES BY PROVIDER THAT CONDUCTS CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECKS
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(a) An online dating service provider that offers services to residents of this state and conducts a criminal background check on each member before permitting a Texas member to communicate through the provider with another member shall clearly and conspicuously disclose to all Texas members that the provider conducts a criminal background check, as described by Section 106.003, on each member before permitting a Texas member to communicate through the provider with another member.
(b) An online dating service provider that offers services to residents of this state and conducts a criminal background check on each member shall include on the provider's Internet website:
(1) a statement of whether the provider excludes from its online dating service all persons identified as having been convicted of:
(A) a felony offense;
(B) an offense the conviction or adjudication of which requires registration as a sex offender under Chapter 62, Code of Criminal Procedure; or
(C) an offense for which an affirmative finding of family violence was made under Article 42.013, Code of Criminal Procedure;
(2) a statement of the number of years of a member's criminal history that is included in a criminal background check; and
(3) a statement that:
(A) criminal background checks are not foolproof;
(B) criminal background checks may give members a false sense of security;
(C) criminal background checks are not a perfect safety solution;
(D) criminals may circumvent even the most sophisticated search technology;
(E) not all criminal records are public in all states and not all databases are up to date;
(F) only publicly available convictions are included in the criminal background check; and
(G) the criminal background check does not cover other types of convictions than convictions for offenses described by Section 106.003(a) or any convictions from foreign countries.
(c) A disclosure required by Subsection (a) must be stated in bold, capital letters in at least 12-point type on the online dating service provider's Internet website.