Online Dating Safety Act of 2023

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 6125) to require online dating service providers to provide fraud ban notifications to online dating servicemembers, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous material in the Record on the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 6125, the Online Dating Safety Act of 2023, sponsored by my good friend and colleague, David Valadao.

Over the last three decades, online dating platforms have transformed the way people find their partners. According to the Pew Research Center, 30 percent of U.S. adults say they have used a dating app or site, many of whom say it has made the dating process much easier.

However, these technologies have also led to the rise of dating scams and fraud, unfortunately, and the FTC reported that romance scams resulted in victims losing $1.3 billion in 2022.

There are countless examples of victims losing their investments and retirements. One victim was tragically driven to suicide after losing his life savings. That is terrible.

H.R. 6125 seeks to protect users of online dating platforms against harmful and fraudulent accounts by requiring platforms to send a fraud ban notification to a user who has been communicating with a suspended account or profile.

This crucial step of communication and transparency has been missing from online dating platforms. This is an opportunity to create a safety mechanism to better protect Americans from falling victim to such devastating scams.

The bill advanced out of committee with unanimous support, a bipartisan

vote of 44-0. I look forward to the bill passing the House this week. Really, we have got to take care of this. Too many people are being taken advantage of, particularly our seniors. We can't have this happen.

I strongly support H.R. 6125 and ask my colleagues to vote ``yes.'' I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Valadao).

Mr. Speaker, again, I appreciate Mr. Valadao putting forth this bill. We have got to do it. We have got to protect our seniors and others who use these apps. I encourage a ``yes'' vote on this particular bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, first, I thank my colleague, my coauthor, Brittany Pettersen, for her support on this. I also thank the members and staff of the committee. They have been very, very helpful in us moving this bill forward.

Mr. Speaker, today I rise in support of my bill, the Online Dating Safety Act. Each year, millions of people are deceived, defrauded, and misled by users of online dating apps.

While it is sadly common to see people lie about things like their age or occupation, this bill takes aim at the more sinister fraudsters who make their livelihoods preying on vulnerable individuals.

According to the Federal Trade Commission, romance scams resulted in victims losing $1.3 billion in 2022 alone, with senior citizens being the most at-risk age group.

There are countless horror stories of people being conned out of their entire life savings, all because they trusted someone they met online. Individuals who meet online often take their conversations to other communication platforms, so even when the fraudulent account is removed, someone might not even know they are talking to someone who has been removed from that original platform.

This bill requires that the dating platform issue a fraud ban notification to users who have ever interacted with the person who has been removed from the app for fraudulent activity. While we can't stop all criminals, this is a simple and important step to fill a communication gap and help people make more informed decisions about who they are really communicating with.

These apps have been around for years, but still there are few safeguards in place to protect users. I urge my colleagues to support this bill and prevent the widespread fraud.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak in support of H.R. 6125, the Online Dating Safety Act. I thank the sponsors of this bill, Representatives Valadao and Pettersen, for their leadership on the issue of online dating safety. I also thank Chair Rodgers for her willingness to work with me at committee to improve the bill.

As more and more consumers report using online dating services, it is important that they are made aware of potential harms. This bill ensures that when an online dating app bans someone for fraud, it notifies all the other users who have been in contact with that banned person on the app. This will help to reduce the number of people who fall victim to identified fraudsters looking to extort money from dating app users.

While there is more to be done to address harms that have arisen in the online dating space, this bill is an important step forward. I urge my colleagues to support the bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have no additional speakers, and I yield myself the balance of my time to close.

Let me just say that this is an important step forward in dealing with online dating safety, and I support the bill and urge my colleagues to support it. I yield back the balance of my time.