A significant ruling potentially effecting online business has come from an unlikely source -- an Internet pornography site. VoyeurDorm runs a pornbusiness from a residential neighborhood in Tampa, Florida. The "dorm" is populated by young women, guests, and 150 live Web cameras. Members pay a monthly fee to view activities 24 hours a day, and for an additional fee can chat online with dorm residents.
In 1999 the city of Tampa tried to close the dorm, arguing that it was an adult business located in a residential neighborhood in violation of the city's zoning laws. The owners of VoyeurDorm filed suit in federal court to block the closure, but the district judge ruled in the city's favor late last year.
