(I think advertising that you want money for sex IS illegal, which is why the wording has to be clever, and all that "you're paying for my time and companionship" stuff....)
This is not the case as long as you're in the UK or another country where charging money for sex is legal. You're not allowed to solicit in any public place - the Internet is definitely
not considered a public place - however, it's considered important that all adult websites have a splash page with an adult content warning just to make sure minors etc don't 'accidentally' see adult images/text.
The Internet is tricky legal-wise because some servers are in the US and some are in the UK and many others are dotted about all over the world, so saying "?100 for all-services sex" on a website can be legal one minute and then (if it's moved onto a US server) illegal the next. The difficulty in working out exactly where certain bits of data precisely are is what makes it possible for loads of blatantly illegal stuff to exist on the Internet - it's usually shut down eventually, but later on it'll just pop up elsewhere.
It's important to choose a host which allows adult content and is based in the UK.
This thread has further info/discussion on that topic. If you've got a .co.uk domain and your site is hosted on UK servers, you can write ten thousand words about taking payment for cash and it's completely legal.
Despite this, UK hosting companies will probably not stand up for our rights to advertise legal services if they are faced with any 'trouble' such as a police investigation, because they will not want to be shut down or lose business due to claims of illegality no matter how vague.
Companies like Moonfruit have fingers in both the UK and US pies and in order to avoid being prosecuted in the US, they will probably want to obey any and all laws that might upset anyone in either country. So they'll apply the stricter rules to every country they operate in, which means that British prossies suffer the effects of the backward and unhelpful US laws.
Also, BTW, the "time and companionship only" blurb does NOT make escort websites 'legal' in the US or in any other country where escorting is illegal.
It is NOT a legal disclaimer. It doesn't matter how you try to disguise your job - all a cop would have to do is ring up, book, turn up to his appointment and hand you some cash, and then Bob's your uncle, you're a prossie and if you're in the US, you'll be arrested. And if you're
really lucky, the cop will be grossly corrupt and won't arrest you until after he's received services (cos then he gets a freebie).
The Internet is still a bit of a 'wild west frontier' - many rules are still being established and laws are literally being invented as people go along. It's not a physical place so hardly any old-style laws regarding property, borders, ownership etc can be applied to it. It's a good idea to keep a copy of your website on your own computer so that if it's taken down one day, you can re-upload it somewhere friendlier straight away. Don't trust your web presence to third parties when your income is based on that web presence. Be vigilant for content thieves and trolls. Be prepared to fight your corner, if you have the energy and inclination, but a solid plan B (retreat & regroup) is important, too.
Topic: Moonfruit is not escort-friendly (Read 8263 times)