Not sure where to go on this

 

Can anyone point me in the right direction, maybe who to call to confirm this is fine or that i will not be at risk of doing anything illigal

 

I have had a client come forward who wants a site built for a massage parlour and he has made it clear that its not just massage that will be offered. I know this will not be obvious on the clients site (other than the images) however my concern is will i get into any bother for building this? or am i not liable for anthing???

 

who should i call to check this, would it be the police? or some sort of advice line?

You're merely building the site for the guy and his 'massage parlour' as far as you're concerned. Offering 'other services' in exchange for money is illegal (well it is here), however so long as you don't advertise the extra services at the time of hand-over of the completed site then you're fine.

wow, first time i have used this forum and just four mins later i have a response, very impressed, will certainly be coming back here

 

Thanks Mike that makes sense, just need to make sure i dont mention anything about the other services

Yeah just make sure that at no point does the client put in writing anything about these 'extra services'. In fact in the contract between you it should already state the intent of the website and the nature of the business. Just make sure this document is in regards to the massage business.

 

I'd double check the situation if you're hosting the site as well though.

Unlikely to be held accountable, otherwise everybody from the carpet fitters to the signwriter would be in the dock with you.

 

As for 'saucy' images... there's an age old advertising addage about reality and the customers perception of reality being two different things, better known these days as the 'Big Mac' effect where what you see over the counter(and therefore desire) is not what they hand you in the box.

 

At the extreeme end of the taste scale you could depict a naked masseuse without problems (subject to hosting) but not actual intercourse as this would leave nothing to the imagination of the clients punters.

 

As for 'extras' ... scented oil or whipped cream are both perfectly acceptable

Edited September 5, 201115 yr by Sogo7

You should ask if you can a discount seen as though you did their site

I think if he tells you explicitly about the extra services you are obligated to go the authorities. If he actually says it's whores, not just implies it. It's doubtful you would be held in any way responsible for his actions otherwise. As far as you were concerned he's an honest and legal business man looking for a website, these extra services could be anything, companies don't tell everything to the people they hire and you have no reason to know and no reason to suspect it's anything untoward. Your honour.

Depends what country you're from but I guess you might be liable for aiding and abetting prostitution? Personally I'd avoid it.

 

In Scotland prostitution is not illegal and there are loads of 'massage parlours' in Edinburgh. But its illegal to solicit for services so their websites don't say anything about the services they provide but you pretty much get the idea from the design. I checked about 10 different 'massage parlour' websites from Edinburgh and none of they say anything about the 'services' they provide, so its probably quite illegal

Oh you 'checked' did you. Did you 'verify' these findings perhaps? lol

Hi,

 

I should suggest you to exclude those extra services in the website as its presence may take you into some trouble.

 

Thanking You,

Futureistic Team.

TBH, I wouldn't mess with this guy.

Completely legal. Doing something similar at the moment and have done these type of projects in the past. I took the time and spent the money to hire a solicitor for an hour to check it out. Check out "house of divine".

I also think you can go ahead without worrying. I used to work for a large publishing company selling advertising into one of their regional newspapers. We used to run dozens of ads for massage parlours and the such like, and our legal team never baulked. So long as the website doesn't indicate that sex or anything sexual can be purchased, you're ok. The adverts we used to run made it obvious that you could purchase a shag with one of these 'lovely' ladies, but of course never ever said it in plain English.

 

I was told that there's nothing illegal if a (wo)man visits a parlour and pays for a massage. Even if (s)he has sex with the masseuse, it's ok so long as there's no financial transaction attached. In other word, what happens between two consenting adults is nobody's business but their own. You can pay for the massage, and have the sex for free - that's fine, so long as the sex isn't considered an 'extra' or associated in any way with the financial transaction. The more closely you examine it, the sillier it is in my opinion.

I also think you can go ahead without worrying. I used to work for a large publishing company selling advertising into one of their regional newspapers. We used to run dozens of ads for massage parlours and the such like, and our legal team never baulked. So long as the website doesn't indicate that sex or anything sexual can be purchased, you're ok. The adverts we used to run made it obvious that you could purchase a shag with one of these 'lovely' ladies, but of course never ever said it in plain English.

 

I was told that there's nothing illegal if a (wo)man visits a parlour and pays for a massage. Even if (s)he has sex with the masseuse, it's ok so long as there's no financial transaction attached. In other word, what happens between two consenting adults is nobody's business but their own. You can pay for the massage, and have the sex for free - that's fine, so long as the sex isn't considered an 'extra' or associated in any way with the financial transaction. The more closely you examine it, the sillier it is in my opinion.

 

 

Does seem pretty silly. Getting around prostitution is so easy. You just make the transaction for something other than sex.

Does seem pretty silly. Getting around prostitution is so easy. You just make the transaction for something other than sex.

 

It's purposely designed that way. After all prostitution is legal in many places quite happily and is stated as 'The oldest profession'. The cost and logistics of strictly enforcing the law against prostitution would be ridiculous.

Thanks guys, seems i just need to be carefull going in making sure the site mentions nothing of the extra services (but suggestive images would make things clear)

 

Is there someone I could call first to be sure this is fine (local authority for example?)

Believe me it's fine

 

But for your piece of mind pay a lawyer for an hour.

You could try calling citizens advice bureau but I don't know how much help they'll give you as it's a business matter. You may have to take the plunge and just pay the cost of a lawyer / solicitor

Quite often you'll find that a local solicitor runs a weekly/ fortnightly/ monthly surgery where you can get 15-30 minutes with a solicitor free of charge. Peace of mind is important after all.

I wouldn't worry about it at all if you saw some of the sites I used to produce while working for a web firm that only dealt with adult content online you have nothing to worry about. Unless you want to go into that market of design its just something Id keep your name away from and out of the portfolio...

Well, i think it shud not be illegal for you, as you are just designing the website, not doing the massage urself.

Well, i think it shud not be illegal for you, as you are just designing the website, not doing the massage urself.

 

Important distinction.