As Free Dating Sites Close, A No-Brainer Trade

Free dating sites close down. Only paid sites remain.

You might not know this, but Congress just wiped out the casual dating scene in mid-March when they recently signed into law the Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act (FOSTA). This intent of this law is to hold websites accountable for any content on their site that may lead to illegal sex acts.

Previously, websites followed a Good Samaritan approach wherein they did their best to monitor content, block anything illegal, and report it. 

Suddenly, websites are 100% responsible for what their users post. If you consider the massive amount of postings on Craigslist and Reddit, this is an incredible burden. All it takes is one post to slip through and these websites face enormously costly fines.

The FOSTA’s primary concern is underage sex trafficking. There are no reliable statistics around the issue of whether or not the internet has increased these criminal acts, but it’s obvious that the internet makes it easier to do wrong things. It’s easier than ever to find an interested party. And it’s incredibly easy to make a post.

The targets for the law are websites where sex workers advertise. But casual dating sites are also targets because they provide excellent cover for sex workers. Rather than take any risk, Craigslist shut down their personals section. Reddit as well.

If you are single and want to meet someone, you just lost your biggest free options. With no other options for now, the millions of singles who like casual dating will turn to other sites like Match.com, OKCupid, PlentyofFish and, of course, Tinder.

And all of these sites are owned by one company: IAC.

That’s the trade. You could buy IAC outright. Or buy you could look at the 2019 calls as IAC will continue to dominate