Dude Dorm, a controversial Internet webcast site featuring sometimes-naked college-age men, was briefly shut down by Tampa officials Wednesday, Reuters reports.
City inspectors ordered Dude Dorm's cameras turned off for unspecified violations of its business license, city officials said. But Entertainment Network Inc., the company that runs the Web site, claimed that inspectors and local police staged a "storm trooper" raid on the house, and EN threatened to sue in retaliation. The company has been in a running dispute with Tampa city officials for years over Dude Dorm, http://www.dudedorm.com, and its sister site, Voyeur Dorm, http://www.voyeurdorm.com. The central issue in the dispute: "virtual" businesses operating in residential areas.
Voyeur Dorm features college-age women living together in a Tampa house rigged with cameras in every room. For a fee, subscribers are able to watch them eating, sleeping, showering, changing clothes and sunbathing au natural. EN is currently appealing a Tampa city council ruling to shut Voyeur Dorm down too.
