...my webhosting is having a fit all of a sudden, over the content of my site and now they wont give me domain name back. Is this legal?
buy your domain name from one place and host it on another. They shouldn't be able to keep your domain but you may have to prove you have another hosting company or transfer the domain to another company
Who paid for the domain name, or more specifically, who registered the domain name? If you paid your webhosting service and they registered the name for you (but unbeknownst to you, not in YOUR name but theirs) then technically they own it. In that case it is theirs to keep.
Good luck getting it back (and I mean good luck in a good way, not sarcastically).
Not true, if they registered it for you, they were acting as your agent, your own it. It they don't assign it to you, you can sue them and not only recover it, but also lost profits (but only for legal activities such as modeling). Consult a lawyer. Word to the wise on domain names, anyone should register the name you want yourself, and you (perhaps via an alias if you want anonymity) should be the listed "registrant" and administrative contact. Go to the "whois" feature of most any authorized registrar, you can search your domain and see who is listed for these (also the technical contact-but that is usually someone with the hosting firm); best bet is to register with a registrant, but then have a hosting service agreement with a seperate hosting firm. They add your domain to their "nameservers" then via your registrar "point" your domain to their name server. Then anyone who enters your domain name will be directed (routing is the technical term) to their name server, which in turn "routs" to your web site. if your host firm becomes unhappy with your content, you can ssimply switch to another hosting firm (who will have a different "nameserver), and repoint to your new site (may be same site, just on a different webserver). Most of the time, repointing can be done in instantly, then it takes up to 24 hours for the changes to be "propagated" out to various routing databases throughout the internet. My experience is that if you are registered with a major registrant, these changes take about an hour (e.g. using a service such as Network Solutions, Verio, Register.com, or the infamous "godaddy.com" of superbowl ad fame. if you pay a web site designer, make sure the contract stipulated that you own the copyright and all rights to the created content. If you pay a professional photographer, make sure the contract stipulates that you own all rights to the photos. The site and design are considered intellectual property - if an empoyee creates it for you, the "work for hire" doctrine says you own it; but if, as is more common, an independent contractor creates it, the law varies by state. Best to always expressly state that you, not the create own exclusive rights in perpetuity.
Its also best to always keep your own back-up copy of the site - that way if you are shut down, you can be back in business in a hurry.