Legal Question in Technology Law in Florida
Starting a new voyeur website
2 part question...
1. I currently own a few webcam sites and am looking into starting a live 24/7 house cam type site and was wondering what I need to know as far as legalities with others entering the house when the cams are on. For instance, I'm guessing no one under the age of 18 is allowed in the house etc.
2. On the current sites I own I am considering making our content member driven, meaning they can upload their own pictures and videos to the site much like youtube.com, ifilm.com, etc. Since the site is adult in nature what do I need to know as far as legalities in the 2257? Will I just need to say something about not submitting underage content or will I actually need a 2257 form for everyone that is uploaded?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Starting a new voyeur website
The issue with 3rd-parties entering the house is oneof release -- a minor can't generally provide a knowing and informed release. A minor's parent or guardian can, of course, but given the nature of the content I assume you hope to provide most adults would be counseled not to be responsible for introducing a minor into such an environment. There are myriad aspects to this -- "safe" rooms or parts of the house, cam turn-downs, etc.
As to the upload of 3rd-party content: this is a much more difficult issue given the legalities as well as the Justice Dept.'s hatred for the adult entertainment industry. There's also the issue of indemnification and the value of that indemnification from unknown posters. There are ways to try to amerliorate this, by having posters join and provide a CC for age verification (and then charging the CC in the case of an indemnification event), etc.
You will need to tread carefully in both areas, as well as others. You should be properly advised by counsel if possible.