We have all seen the headlines and heard the news stories about these teen model Web sites where kids from the ages of 13 to 17 pose in bikinis and other sick positions for the sake of “getting known”. Now we all know that these Web sites (for the most part) are for the sick and perverted that get off at the idea of looking at a little girl in her underwear.
Now I had always thought, “Well why don’t these reporters go after the folks that are hosting these Web sites?”. I didn’t think that any Web host in its right mind would want to be associated with protecting these places.
Well I was wrong.
I did a little investigative reporting myself and tracked down the Web host for an entire series of these types of Web sites. They are known as Webe Web Corp. I was not able to contact them directly, as of right now they have not returned my E-mails. So after no response from them I went up one level higher and decided to hunt down the folks that host the Web host.
That is when I found myself talking with Host.net. I sent the folks at Host.net an E-mail about the Web sites and asking them if they knew they were hosting somebody that was hosting these Web sites. They did, and this is what they told me about where they stand in all of this:
We have thoroughly investigated the content of these sites in the past and while they may contain some material that is offensive, they are legal. We appreciate your concern; however, these sites do operate within the boundaries of our AUP and are legal as far as their content offerings. Please let me know if you have any further questions or concerns.
We neither endorse nor censor our customer’s content and we abide by the laws of the State of Florida. Should you have questions or concerns regarding the content of said sites please contact WeBeWeb as they are the content provider, we are merely the host.
I did some more homework on all of this and Host.net is right, technically this is not an illegal thing to do. While it is not illegal, a Web host should still have the right to refuse hosting to any place they do not wish to provide hosting to.
I am not a legal mastermind here (a lawyer I am not), but one would think that if you changed your acceptable use policy then you could help in getting Web sites like this off the Internet. A Web host is a private business and as a private business it should be able to refuse services to places like this.
If I was standing on a street anywhere in America and I had a 13 year old girl with me posing in sexually suggestive positions, people would say I was sick. If I was doing that and I was asking people to give me money to see more of it, I would probably be arrested on the spot. That is how the world should work.
Now if I turn around and do it Online - that makes it all OK to do? That is not right.
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