U.S. FEDRegulation
United States requires dating services to send fraud ban notices within 24 hours
The president signed H.R. 2481, the Romance Scam Prevention Act, on October 20, 2026. The Act requires an online dating service provider to notify a member who received a message from a member subject to a fraud ban. Section 2 takes effect one year after enactment, on October 20, 2027, and the Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general enforce it.
Enrolled text (U.S. Government Publishing Office) → · The White House
Key points
- Notification is due within 24 hours after a fraud ban begins, or within 3 days if the provider judges delay necessary.U.S. Government Publishing Office
- A notice includes the banned member's identifier, the most recent message time, a no-cash warning, fraud-avoidance information, and customer-service contact details.U.S. Government Publishing Office
- A provider must not notify before a law-enforcement delay period ends, and must notify within 3 days after that period ends.U.S. Government Publishing Office
- A violation is treated as an unfair or deceptive act or practice under section 18(a)(1)(B) of the FTC Act.U.S. Government Publishing Office
- States may not maintain a law that requires, prohibits, or otherwise affects the manner of a fraud ban notification.U.S. Government Publishing Office
- A provider is not liable to a member, banned member, or former member for a claim based on complying with the notification duty.U.S. Government Publishing Office
Sources2 articles across 2 outlets
Filed under
RegulationU.S.Romance Scam Prevention ActComplianceConsumer protectionTechnologyFor practitionersFor governance