Cutting it close to the wire, eh, eHarmony? You have less than 36 hours to go.
According to the New Jersey Attorney General – eHarmony Inc. settlement agreement (pdf in NJ website), eHarmony has the following four deliverables (A to D) in less than 36 hours, New Jersey time:
a. The eHarmony.com website shall provide options for users to identify themselves as a male seeking a male or a female seeking a female, with accessibility, registration procedures and subscription flow substantially similar to that provided to users seeking opposite-sex matches. The same-sex matching services may be provided through a new or differently-named website operated by Company;
b. If the above same-sex option links users to a new or differently-named website operated by Company, the homepage of that website shall identify it as an affiliate of or provided by Company;
c. Same-sex matching services shall be provided using the same or equivalent technology and service quality, and with the same terms and fees for the consumer, as provided for opposite-sex matching services. Company reserves the right to accompany its offer of same-sex matching services with a statement explaining that Company’s Compatibility Matching System™ was developed on the basis of research limited to married heterosexual couples;
d. Company shall provide a free membership for a term of one year to Complainant, and for a term of six months to the first 10,000 users registering for same-sex matching within one year of the initiation of the same-sex matching service provided by Company;
e. Company shall include photos of same-sex couples in the “Diversity” section of the eHarmony-inc.com website as successful same-sex matches are made using the same-sex matching service provided by Company, and Company shall similarly include photos of same-sex couples and individual users of the same-sex matching service in Company’s advertising of the same-sex matching service;
f. Within thirty (30) days of the initiation of the same-sex matching service provided by Company, the anti-discrimination statements located on Company’s websites, handbooks, and publications shall be amended to specifically indicate that Company does not discriminate, among other things, on the basis of “sexual orientation.”
g. Company shall implement (a) through (d) above by March 31, 2009;
eHarmony has done no public beta phase and has done no previews for the media (like a movie pre-screening for critics) at all, so naturally I look forward to be impressed with what they will unveil on Tuesday morning. Will the website work? Will those who register on Tuesday get their six-month subscription without a hitch? How will the questionnaire be different? How will the screens be different? How will they handle customer support? So many questions.
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