Match.com to Start Screening for Sex Offenders
Following a lawsuit filed by a woman who maintains she was sexually assaulted by a fellow Match.com member with a history of sexual battery, the online dating service said Sunday it will begin screening for sexual predators.
The president of Match.com tells the Associated Press that the company had considered checking users against the national sex offender registry, but opted not to because “their historical unreliability has always led us to conclude against it.”
The about face comes on the heels of a lawsuit filed by an entertainment executive, who said she was assaulted after a second date with a man she met on Match.com. After the alleged assault, the woman discovered that the man she’d been dating had a record of sexual battery.
At the time the suit was filed, Match.com said that their policy is to provide safety tips for members and encourage them to conduct their own background checks.
A Match.com spokesman tells the AP that the decision to screen users wasn’t in direct response to the lawsuit, but was accelerated by the attention brought by the suit.
Related coverage:
ABC News: “Match.com to Begin Checking Users Against Sex Offender Database”
