Would a site on breasts cause too much stress?

February 29, 2008 2:42 PM

What kinds of basic concerns should I have about starting a tasteful porno-ish web site?

I would like to start a web site that is a tasteful appreciation of female breasts. It would feature artwork and written appreciations and photographs of breasts (bare and otherwise) only, to include reader-/viewer-submitted content. But not trashy or tacky or disparaging or anything. PG, or maybe PG-13 kinda stuff.

It's just in the thinking phase at this point (I have a site name reserved and an overall theme that I like). But what kinds of problems should I anticipate, legal or otherwise, for having a site like this? Will I have a problem finding hosting? Should I try to locate a hosting service outside the US, or does that matter? (I am in the US.) Do I have to register as a corporation if I charge for membership or do any advertising down the line? Do I have to worry about age verification of the breasts being presented, or copyright violation if a set of renowned breasts are posted? If my domain name is registered successfully already, do I need to worry about it being rescinded if someone finds it offensive (it includes the word 'titty')?

If there's a general resource on such sites that I can consult, that would be cool as well. Otherwise, I'm just curious about whether the downsides are overly prohibitive. Thanks!

posted by troybob to computers & internet (7 comments total)

IANAP, but I think you need model disclaimers and proof of age.
posted by Jacqueline at 2:54 PM on February 29, 2008

I think age verification is almost a necessity, whether you feel the site is tasteful or not. Your description of your domain name reinforces this argument, I believe.
posted by DMan at 2:55 PM on February 29, 2008

I'm having a hard time reconciling the word 'tasteful' and the word 'titty.'
posted by box at 3:01 PM on February 29, 2008 [3 favorites]

I don't want to give away the registered name or the theme, but friends--men and women--I've talked to about it so far feel it's more playful and mild--kind of how people view 'puppetry of the penis,' though certainly not with the same contortions.
posted by troybob at 3:05 PM on February 29, 2008

IWAP. Your domain name is fine, whatever it is.

You may need adult hosting. (Canada is optimal for this.) For this kind of soft core, you do not need AVS, although you may a "Hi, you need to be 18, etc." Check out how suicide girls vs Jenna vs RetroPorn deals with it - the barrier to entry escalates with the X factor.
posted by DarlingBri at 3:32 PM on February 29, 2008

"Do I have to register as a corporation if I charge for membership or do any advertising down the line? "

A corporation - or other form of business entity - will allow you to sharply differentiate business from personal activities. Should the worst happen - litigation - then your personal assets would (largely) be protected.

If you're doing anything at all that could attract some sort of negative attention then you should consider pursuing this activity via an LLC or other form of business entity. This is especially true if you're not judgement proof; i.e., have personal assets that could be seized.

I have a small business in the UK importing MP3 players (and other electronic trinkets that I find interesting) from China. A relatively safe enterprise, by comparison, and all this effort - as well as my personal assets - are done under a UK Limited Company.
posted by Mutant at 3:50 PM on February 29, 2008

IAAL, but not your lawyer and the following is not legal advice.

So long as only breasts are presented, the federal law in its current state would not appear to require age verification documentation of your models.

The applicable statue here is 18 USC §2257, which requires documentation to be kept by producers (and certain other parties) of depictions of "actual sexually explicit conduct." "Sexually explicit conduct" is defined in 18 USC §2256 as:

(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), “sexually explicit conduct” means actual or simulated—
(i) sexual intercourse, including genital-genital, oral-genital, anal-genital, or oral-anal, whether between persons of the same or opposite sex;
(ii) bestiality;
(iii) masturbation;
(iv) sadistic or masochistic abuse; or
(v) lascivious exhibition of the genitals or pubic area of any person;
(B) For purposes of subsection 8(B) [1] of this section, “sexually explicit conduct” means—
(i) graphic sexual intercourse, including genital-genital, oral-genital, anal-genital, or oral-anal, whether between persons of the same or opposite sex, or lascivious simulated sexual intercourse where the genitals, breast, or pubic area of any person is exhibited;
(ii) graphic or lascivious simulated;
(I) bestiality;
(II) masturbation; or
(III) sadistic or masochistic abuse; or
(iii) graphic or simulated lascivious exhibition of the genitals or pubic area of any person;
posted by dbolll at 3:55 PM on February 29, 2008