Legal help needed - Starting new website in the UK

TurboPants · 2007-06-21, 02:54 PM

I live in the UK – England and I’ve just started working on making my first adult site.
At the moment I’m struggling to work out all the legal implications with regards to starting up my site. I’ll be using ccbill.com and an sms payment service to receive membership payments. The content will be original and totally unique to the site in the form of videos and photos, a mix of hard and softcore.

What I’m hoping is that some knowledgeable souls could enlighten me on any of my concerns below, I’d be very grateful if you can help me out.

The first thing I need to decide on is whether to use a server based in the UK or in the USA, and if choosing either of the two will bring any advantages, disadvantages or make no difference at all.

I need to know what the laws are regarding hardcore content being hosted and displayed on a server from within the UK. Is it completely illegal? Is it legal if it’s obtained via membership signup with a credit card? Would it be illegal to show hardcore previews in either the USA or UK?

If I were to have an English based website, with content that was quite clearly made in England, yet I was running from a USA server, would I be able to bypass any laws within the UK? My site will be using both .com and .co.uk version of its address - if that’s of any significance.

I will be using unique content and recording all footage myself. I know that I’ll need a model release form clearly stating that I will have ownership of any of the media recorded and ensuring that the model provides two forms of I.D proving their age and other credentials.

I was just wondering if anyone might have an example release form or even better one that is actually used by someone? I’m also wondering if a form of this type would need authenticating by a solicitor?

I know I’ll need to make a copy of the I.D provided by each model too, will I need to use any form of statement on my website stating I have a record of all models on file? I know about the 18 U.S.C. Section 2257 Compliance Notice, is this still relevant if my site is based on a UK Server?

I think that’s all the concerns I have for now! If there are any important legal considerations I might have overlooked, I’d be grateful if you could make me aware of them.

Thank-you for your time and help.

2007-06-21, 02:54 PM	#1
TurboPants Internet! Is that thing still around? Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 1	Legal help needed - Starting new website in the UK I live in the UK – England and I’ve just started working on making my first adult site. At the moment I’m struggling to work out all the legal implications with regards to starting up my site. I’ll be using ccbill.com and an sms payment service to receive membership payments. The content will be original and totally unique to the site in the form of videos and photos, a mix of hard and softcore. What I’m hoping is that some knowledgeable souls could enlighten me on any of my concerns below, I’d be very grateful if you can help me out. The first thing I need to decide on is whether to use a server based in the UK or in the USA, and if choosing either of the two will bring any advantages, disadvantages or make no difference at all. I need to know what the laws are regarding hardcore content being hosted and displayed on a server from within the UK. Is it completely illegal? Is it legal if it’s obtained via membership signup with a credit card? Would it be illegal to show hardcore previews in either the USA or UK? If I were to have an English based website, with content that was quite clearly made in England, yet I was running from a USA server, would I be able to bypass any laws within the UK? My site will be using both .com and .co.uk version of its address - if that’s of any significance. I will be using unique content and recording all footage myself. I know that I’ll need a model release form clearly stating that I will have ownership of any of the media recorded and ensuring that the model provides two forms of I.D proving their age and other credentials. I was just wondering if anyone might have an example release form or even better one that is actually used by someone? I’m also wondering if a form of this type would need authenticating by a solicitor? I know I’ll need to make a copy of the I.D provided by each model too, will I need to use any form of statement on my website stating I have a record of all models on file? I know about the 18 U.S.C. Section 2257 Compliance Notice, is this still relevant if my site is based on a UK Server? I think that’s all the concerns I have for now! If there are any important legal considerations I might have overlooked, I’d be grateful if you could make me aware of them. Thank-you for your time and help.