Q&A: Working with Not Entirely Modest Pictures
Working with Not Entirely Modest Pictures
Question
Hello Rabbi,
A guy who owns a gym wants me to promote his website.
- The gym is mixed, and the dress there is generally not modest.
- His website has pictures that are not modest according to Jewish law.
- In addition, he also operates on the Sabbath (although the question is relevant even without this point).
My question is this: am I allowed to promote his website when I do not need to deal with or look at his pictures?
Am I allowed to teach him to promote the site by himself?
Another similar question: I have a client for whom I provide technical support for a website.
His site is relatively modest, and there are no issues with it.
Specifically, he asks me to upload a picture to one of the pages on the site.
The picture is immodest. Is it permissible to do that?
Answer
Hello Ofir.
It seems to me that if you yourself upload it to the site, there is room to forbid it (although this is a drop in the ocean, since the internet is full of much worse pictures for anyone looking for them. The problem is with someone who is not looking for that, but for a gym, and will run into it against his will).
But if you build the platform and teach him to upload things to the site or to promote the site, that is permitted, since he is doing what he decides based on his own considerations. This is not a site whose purpose is plainly forbidden, like a pornography site or something like that, where there would be room to forbid even indirect assistance (even though if you do not do it, others will). Here you are helping a legitimate site, and it is his decision what to do with that.
Discussion on Answer
Uploading a picture is problematic, and I would avoid it. As for promoting the site too, it is preferable to teach him, but if there is no choice, that seems easier to me.
Thank you very much!
Thank you very much,
I didn't understand whether I am allowed to promote the site, or only to teach him how to promote it.