US court gives consent to porn

A porn-peddling US internet company that broadcasts uncensored Big Brother style footage of a college dorm room has fought off a Tampa, Florida council which wanted to shut it down.

Tampa council, where the dorm is based, wanted to close down the site, run by Voyeur Dorm, on the basis that it was breaching town planning rules.

The city believed that the company was effectively operating an adult entertainment business in a residential area.

But the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Voyeur Dorm was not subject to any such zoning rules for the adult entertainment business because it was only distributing a video feed and not physically hosting customers.

The judge found that the Tampa City Code could not be applied to a location that "does not, itself, offer adult entertainment to the public."

The ruling leaves Voyeur Dorm, which promises "8 sexy college girls, uncut and uncensored - sneak a peek at us in the bathroom or shower," free to continue broadcasting.

The ruling effectively gives the firm planning consent and establishes the precedent that internet companies may not be subject to some of the same planning laws of other industries.