Voyeurweb is a free photo sharing website with a focus on nudity and some softcore amateur pornography. Started in August 1997, it has since become a very popular amateur pornographic website. From July 1999 until September 2006 it was among the 1000 most visited websites worldwide according to Alexa.
Contents
Concept
Voyeurweb is a photo sharing site designed to allow people to upload nude and pornographic photos and videos onto the site, which are published on daily lists after review. Uploaded pictures are usually available on the site after a few days. The content includes different sections. Awards are given to best voted photo submissions for each section on a monthly basis.
Originally part of the site was genuinely voyeuristic in nature, including "peeping tom" shots of non-consenting nude women in their homes. Voyeurweb actively promoted the photography of nude women without their consent--for example setting up a related online store, the Voyeur Shop, which sold items such as covert cameras to assist in photographing women in the nude. The tiny cameras could then be installed discreetly in places where women were likely to be nude--such as women's locker rooms or apartments--and the resulting photographs could then be uploaded as softcore porn. Although such actions were sometimes illegal, prosecution often proved difficult due to the anonymous nature of the Web. Much of that material was scaled back in 2003, but the site continues to promote a section, called "What I Saw", for photographs of topless and nude women taken in public without their consent. Other current sections for models posing with their consent include "Private Shots" (indoors), "Freestyle" (outdoors), "Nude in Public" and a section devoted to photos of women's bare breasts, "Instant Tit Flash".
The concept is similar to web 2.0 or porn 2.0, though uploaded content is moderated before it is displayed. The site differs from many other pornographic websites in that it is free and only shows ad for its own hardcore member sites. Voyeurweb also operates a forum, a Wiki dedicated to sexology and features most of it photos in an additional iPhone-friendly interface.
VoyeurWeb is softcore. One of its functions is to draw participants to its sister site RedClouds, which is a subscription site.
Ownership
Voyeurweb.com is currently owned by a shell corporation registered in the jurisdiction of Panama. It has operated under the guise of operating in Germany (true); Panama (false); The Turk and Caicos Islands (false); San Francisco, USA (true); New York, USA (true); Toronto, Canada (partially true); and the Amsterdam, Netherlands (true). While operating with shell operations may indicate a less than reputable company, these actions have been primarily to avoid legal problems, including the Child Protection and Obscenity Enforcement Act. Voyeurweb's internal rules forbid underage and/or underage appearing models. The owners lived in Amsterdam, Netherlands; and Tampa, Florida, but residences and offices are moved frequently to avoid legal problems.
In June 2012, the site came under scrutiny when one of its employee's decided to start up a competing site, but sabotaged VoyeurWeb's servers and stole content before doing so. This became a struggle as VoyeurWeb was left hurting. It is owned by Social Media Inc. based out of and incorporated within Florida.
The actual location of the so-called VoyeurWeb mothership, which includes software development, global network administration, central processing of content and central media administration is now across the globe. It has offices in New York, California and Florida.
The domain name was registered by a company in July 1997. The site is run from servers based out of Los Angeles, California as well as a content distribution network called EdgeCast.
VoyeurWeb is the softcore version of the Voyeurweb sites. RedClouds was its hardcore membership site. Homeclips was its video membership site, and Funbags its archive site.
Voyeurweb once had Watchcams, which was the "original" cam house, and was the forerunner to Voyeurdorm by a matter of weeks.
Voyeurweb, Watchcams and similar sites led to other ventures, such as Girls Gone Wild (an unrelated company).
Criticism and praise
Voyeurweb has been pioneering user-generated content since the time when the term Web 2.0 was unknown. Initially submissions of all photos of nude women were encouraged, and there were very few limits on the kinds of photos that could be submitted. These included many photos of nude women taken without their consent—for example, through windows, in dressing rooms, in public and private showers, or while sleeping. These voyeur related photo sections sustained heavy criticism until photos displaying invasion of privacy were allegedly no longer shown. This departure from no-holds-barred voyeuristic photography changed the site's concept significantly, as it was one of the first to offer its visitors both photos and videos of a true "voyeuristic" nature, including material containing non-consenting subjects. However, photos such as those of topless sunbathers on beaches are still displayed without consent from the women being photographed, in circumstances where Voyeurweb feels that the women did not have a "reasonable expectation of privacy".
While Porn 2.0 websites like Voyeurweb, PornoTube and YouPorn have garnered tremendous popularity and interest since their inception, they are not without their critics. Some concern has been raised about the copyright, privacy and legal ramifications of large quantities of free, user-generated, pornographic content on the internet.
Concerns have also surfaced over the inability to verify the age of the persons depicted in the photos and the fact that the subjects are often photographed without their consent, especially where the candid nature of the shot is its main appeal. As with any Web 2.0-type system, there is also the possibility of copyrighted photos being uploaded to the site but viewers are asked to be alert to this and report infringements via a "Report Contri" button found on every page with photos, allowing users to "Report a stolen or suspicious contri" (contribution).
Ownership dispute
On June 10, 2012, the Voyeurweb web page was temporarily shut down. The page featured a GoDaddy.com advertisement.
The Voyeurweb front page stated on June 12 that the domain name had been hijacked.
On June 13, 2012, Voyeurclouds.com claimed that the original VoyeurWeb had been taken over hostilely and the it was actually the true Voyeurweb.