Source: Entertainment Network, Inc.
By: Company Press Release
(TAMPA, FL) — Entertainment Network, Inc., the owner of the VoyeurDorm.com Website, will ask the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals tomorrow to overturn on constitutional grounds a ruling by a Federal judge that could affect all home-based Internet businesses. Meanwhile, neighbors of Voyeur Dorm have overwhelmingly urged its coeds to stay in the residence from which their lives are broadcast 24 hours a day over the Internet.
The City of Tampa has tried to shut down the dorm on grounds that it is an adult business because cameras placed throughout the house catch glimpses of its six female college student residents as they shower or change clothes. Judge Susan C. Bucklew dismissed an ENI lawsuit against the city and said ENI was subject to strict zoning regulations.
ENI, which pays the women’s college tuition and a stipend, denies that Voyeur Dorm is an adult business. The court case has become an important legal test of the ability of local governments to regulate home-based Internet activities that are never visited by the public and where no financial transactions ever take place.
David Marshlack, President of Entertainment Network, Inc., has scheduled a press conference to be held on the steps of the U.S. District Court in Tampa at 12 Noon Thursday, November 30th; moments after his lawyers file an appeal of Judge Bucklew’s ruling. Residents of the dorm carrying protest signs will be on hand to support their landlord during the press conference.
Meanwhile, Ashley West, a 21-year-old student who has lived in the dorm for two years, got an overwhelmingly positive response to a one-page letter she distributed to neighbors in the Wellswood section of Tampa. Forty-six neighbors returned a “ballot” with a box marked, “Yes, we want you to stay,” while only three checked a box that said, “No, please go away.”
“This is one vote in Florida that is uncontested,” said Mr. Marshlack. “We will continue to operate no matter what happens in court because we have already secured an alternative location, but we obviously prefer to stay in a neighborhood where we are already accepted. We’ll move only if the inconceivable should happen and the appeals court fails to overturn Judge Bucklew’s ruling. We are prepared to go the Supreme Court if necessary because this is an extremely important issue for anyone who operates a Website in a home.”
In her letter to neighbors Ms. West said, “The only difference between my home and yours is that we have cameras, you don’t. The judge made a decision based on what she felt. It’s not fair to us.” She also noted that a security guard outside the dorm provides protection for the entire block.
