Relates to bans from online dating services based on content; requires retention of records where necessary to maintain enforcement of fraud bans or content bans; makes related provisions.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
9097
IN SENATE
February 3, 2026
___________
Introduced by Sen. MAY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Internet and Technology
AN ACT to amend the general business law, in relation to banned members
of social referral services
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Paragraph (d) of subdivision 1 of section 394-c of the
2 general business law, as amended by chapter 13 of the laws of 2025, is
3 amended and two new paragraphs (h) and (i) are added to read as follows:
4 (d) "banned member" shall mean the member whose account or profile is
5 the subject of a fraud ban or content ban.
6 (h) "content ban" shall mean when a member's account or profile is
7 barred from an online dating service because, in the judgment of such
8 online dating service, such member was found to have engaged in or is
9 substantially likely to have engaged in conduct or share content that
10 violates law, breaches such online dating service's terms or policies,
11 or poses a significant risk of harm to users on such online dating
12 service's platform.
13 (i) "contract and customer service records" shall include the contract
14 between a user of a social referral service's platform and such social
15 referral service, including any contract amendments or ancillary agree-
16 ments, evidence of such user's acceptance of such contract's terms, such
17 user's name and contact information, and any notices provided by either
18 such party including, but not limited to, notices of cancellation,
19 consent, or withdrawal of consent, customer service records, and/or
20 purchase and billing records, except that such records shall exclude any
21 sensitive payment information.
22 § 2. Subdivision 6 of section 394-c of the general business law, as
23 amended by chapter 13 of the laws of 2025, is amended to read as
24 follows:
25 6. (a) Every contract for social referral service shall provide that
26 at the expiration of the contract or at the expiration of services
27 rendered by the seller, for any reason, all information and material of
28 a personal or private nature acquired from a purchaser directly or indi-
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD13219-03-6
S. 9097 2
1 rectly including but not limited to answers to tests and questionnaires,
2 photographs or background information shall be [promptly] returned by
3 the seller to the purchaser by certified mail or destroyed and deleted
4 from any electronic storage devices within ninety days, with certif-
5 ication of destruction or deletion promptly provided to the purchaser
6 upon request, unless the retention of such information and material is
7 required [(a)]:
8 (i) by federal, state, or local laws, rules or regulations [or (b)];
9 (ii) to comply with a judicial court order; or
10 (iii) by such social referral service to maintain enforcement of a
11 fraud ban or content ban.
12 (b) Information and material retained to effectuate and enforce a
13 fraud ban or content ban pursuant to subparagraph (iii) of paragraph (a)
14 of this subdivision shall not be used for any other purpose except for
15 identifying the purchaser in order to effectuate and enforce such fraud
16 ban or content ban. Such information and material retained for such
17 purpose shall be limited to the information and material collected by
18 the social referral service in order for the purchaser to create an
19 account and profile. A social referral service may retain contract and
20 customer service records for a period not to exceed six years, or for a
21 period for which a purchaser may be authorized to bring action under
22 section two hundred thirteen of the civil practice law and rules, which-
23 ever is longer.
24 § 3. The opening paragraph of paragraph (a) of subdivision 10 of
25 section 394-c of the general business law, as amended by chapter 13 of
26 the laws of 2025, is amended to read as follows:
27 An online dating service shall disclose to all of its New York members
28 known to have previously received and responded to an on-site message
29 from a banned member subject to a fraud ban:
30 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
