Shakespeare And Sexting: Reconsidering Penalties For Teen Sexual Activity

5-2-17:

Worried that the law sometimes imposes too big a penalty on teens who engage in consensual sexual activity, some legislators are pushing to reduce the consequences.

More than 20 years ago, when Russell Foster was 19 and his girlfriend Amber was 15, Montana’s laws tore them apart, sending Russell to prison for four years for having sex with a minor.

Their story mostly has a happy ending. They reunited when Russell got out of prison. They’re married now, with four kids, and living in Glasgow, Montana. And last month, Montana Gov. Steve Bullock, a Democrat, granted Russell clemency. But there have been struggles, too. Russell’s record has made it hard for him to find work, and being a registered sex offender has limited where the family can live.

Hoping to spare other young couples severe consequences like those, the Fosters pushed for a bill the Montana Legislature passed last month that would reduce the penalties for teens caught engaging in consensual sexual activity. The measure also would expand the age range covered by the state’s existing Romeo and Juliet law. Named for Shakespeare’s young lovers, the laws vary from state to state but typically provide legal protections or reduced penalties for teens close in age who engage in sexual activity.

Other states also are considering reducing the penalties for teens convicted of crimes associated with sexual activity. Last year, Kansas enacted a law that gives prosecutors the option of charging minors with a misdemeanor, rather than a felony, for exchanging lewd photos in text messages. Connecticut is considering a similar bill this year, and the New York Legislature is considering a bill that would give teens a pass for consensual sexting. And Nevada is considering a bill that would give judges discretion over whether children convicted of sex crimes need to register as a sex offender.

Tough penalties for teens convicted of illegal sexual behavior were often written into statute over the past 20 years as part of broader efforts by state legislatures to protect children from predators, following federal laws that called for better tracking of sexual offenders.

But more recently, steep penalties for sexual contact between teens have made some prosecutors reluctant to bring charges, said Tom Raynes, executive director of the Colorado District Attorneys’ Council. ..Continued.. by Rebecca Beitsch

Read More of Article...

Article Summary only...

ACLU of Iowa to Represent Knoxville Teen in “Sexting” Lawsuit

11-12-2016 Iowa:

Knoxville parents are defending their daughter’s right to free speech and for them to raise their child the way they see fit.

The ACLU of Iowa announced that it will represent a 14-year-old Knoxville, Iowa, girl who was threatened with criminal charges after texting suggestive photos of herself to a boy. As a result, a local county attorney is threatening her with sexual exploitation of a minor—herself.

The two photos at issue don’t show any nudity. In one of the photographs, she is wearing a sports bra and boy shorts. In the other, she’s in boy shorts with her hair covering her breasts.

In the lawsuit, the girl is identified as Nancy Doe. Because of the photos, the local county attorney has threatened Nancy Doe with charges that, if she were convicted of them, would come with the possibility of prison time and placement on the sex offender registry. To avoid prosecution, he told her, she would have to sign an admission of guilt, enroll in a pre-trial diversion program involving community service, attend classes on the dangers of sexting, and have no access to her phone or laptop for a set period of time.

No Monetary Reward Sought

Doe’s parents object to the threats of prosecution as well as the county attorney’s alternatives. In the lawsuit, which seeks no monetary reward or damages, the Does ask only that the threats of prosecution, as well as required actions to avoid prosecution, be dropped.

Rita Bettis, ACLU of Iowa legal director, said, “The Does are reasonably concerned that the pre-trial diversion program would have a harmful effect on their daughter’s self-esteem and punish her for doing something that was hardly obscene or against the law. They do not want her to be labeled or shamed for her behavior.” ..Continued.. by Veronica Fowler

Read More of Article...

Article Summary only...

Secret apps and what parents can do to protect teens

11-19-15 Colorado, National:

DENVER — Sexting in schools is a growing problem, even with kids as young as fourth and fifth grades. Sure, you know about Snapchat and Instagram. What about Kik and AskFm? How about Omegle? And now, there are other apps out there to hide those apps.

Authorities are worried. It’s not just sharing inappropriate pictures and messages, but all of this is opening up our kids to becoming victims of sexual predators.

The Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office has one of the leading programs in the country to not only take down predators, but also to educate kids and parents about the dangers. Mike Harris has been the leader of “The Cheezo Unit” since 1996. His team has arrested 853 predators. This year, they have already arrested 52 people.

We paid them a visit and were surprised at how quickly someone can get in trouble online. Harris was showing us an app called “Omegle” where users are anonymous. Child predators use the site to gather information on children. Within seconds, Harris, posing as a 14-year-old girl, was approached by a 45-year-old man. Within minutes, the suspect was asking to meet for sex. Harris said, “He is asking me what I like to keep secrets about.”

It’s not just apps, it’s online, in games, and in real life.

We met a 14-year-old girl who met a boy on Xbox Live. The boy claimed to be 11 years old. The girl got suspicious when he asked her to meet.

She said, “He didn`t want me to tell my parents. He said don`t tell your parents, they don`t need to find out, it`s just between you and me. That`s when I was like, ‘oh no, this is not good, what do I do?’ At that time, I didn`t know who to ask for help, at that time, I was too afraid to ask my parents, I was afraid they would be angry with me.” ..Continued.. by Deborah Takahara

Read More of Article...

Article Summary only...

The truth about sexting laws

11-9-15 National:

by Danny Cevallos, CNN Legal Analyst

(CNN)Students at a Colorado high school allegedly exchanged hundreds of naked photos of themselves, which has prompted a felony investigation by police and the forfeiture of a football game, apparently because many players have been implicated in the sexting scandal. It seems that one maxim persists throughout human existence when it comes to adolescent behavior: Adults do the darndest things.

Of course, kids do all kinds of irresponsible, ill-advised things, but they are, well, kids. In that sense, their reckless, unpredictable behavior is predictable. Even the Supreme Court has acknowledged what humankind has always known: that adolescents are more "impetuous," "reckless," and "susceptible to negative influences" than adults. Of course, the same Supreme Court recognized that juveniles are developmentally less culpable and more capable of reform than adults too.

Academia and science appear to agree with the Supreme Court:

"Adolescence is a time when maturation of the limbic system outpaces frontal lobe development. Thus, puberty is accompanied by "a proliferation of receptors for dopamine" which may explain the increase in risky behaviors, including unsafe sex, as teens pursue their hormone driven search to experience pleasure and social bonding."

Does that sound like the behavior of you or anyone you knew from the ages of 13 to 18? Me too. ..Continued.. ..

Read More of Article...

Article Summary only...

'Ghost app' used by students in sexting investigation

Learn how to find these GHOST Apps on Smartphones.

11-7-15 Colorado, National:

KUSA – The Cañon City sexting incident that caused a cancellation of a football game is still being investigated.

Cañon City High School offices said students involved used what is considered a "ghost" or "hidden" app to disguise their files.

One apps look like a calculator, for instance, but if a passcode is typed in, it opens up to a hidden menu with content.

Mike Harris investigates internet child sex crimes for the 1st Judicial District that includes Jefferson County. He showed the 9NEWS crew a free app.

"Ghost apps, hidden apps they're everywhere and the kids know about them," Harris said.

"We've been hearing about these for probably five plus years now. The problem is parents are giving their kids smart phones, iPads, and if their kids don't know about ghost apps, or hidden apps, their friends do and they can tell them how to go about putting them on. And then we as parents, even if we try to be vigilant, check our kids' technology devices, we're not going to see them there."

Harris said he's heard the "not my kid" line from parents too many times.

"This one father in particular, he wept so hard, thought he was a failure because he just could not believe his 12-year-old daughter would be sending out inappropriate naked pictures of herself. I told him, 'you're not a failure, our environment is failing our children, not just from us as parents, but our environment as a whole.'"

Harris teaches parents many things, including sexting and how to be smarter than your kid, or at least just as smart.

"We suggest that parents put on parental controls," Harris said. "If your kids needs an app, or wants an app, you find out what does that app do, why do you want this?"

If you agree with it, then you put in the parent passcode. The kid doesn't know it and then you allow them to download that app. You take back more of the control instead of just giving them these devices."

The 1st Judicial District DA's Office provided a how to manual for parents, with instructions how to see or remove apps from kids' phones. View the manual here or below.

"If you don't know and you want to start over, just hit reset on their technology device and start all over," Harris said. ..Source.. by Anastasiya Bolton, KUSA

Read More of Article...

Article Summary only...

Teens Who Take Nude Photos Of Themselves Can Still Be Treated As Sex Offenders

9-10-15 National:

In many states, they don't have to share the photo to break the law.

WASHINGTON -- A teenage boy in North Carolina might have to register as a sex offender if he's convicted of keeping nude photos he took of himself on his phone, as well as a picture of his girlfriend. His case has drawn national scrutiny, but North Carolina's controversial law isn't unique. In many states, prosecutors can technically slam teenagers who snap naked selfies with child porn-related charges -- regardless if the photos were shared or not.

While at least 20 states have updated their laws since 2009 to address teen sexting, in others, images teens produce are treated like child pornography, with harsh penalties for possession.

States require people convicted of various sex-related offenses to publicly register as sex offenders. They don't always make exceptions for kids, even if their cases are adjudicated in juvenile court. Almost 40 states have laws that require at least some juveniles found to have committed sex offenses to register, according to Nicole Pittman, a founder of the Center on Youth Registration Reform at Impact Justice, a research center on the criminal justice system.

Clearly, most prosecutors aren't going to go after a teen over a risqué selfie of him- or herself. "It simply would not be practical, both legally and financially, for the government," said Dmitriy Shakhnevich, a criminal defense attorney in New York.

Marsha Levick, deputy director and chief counsel at the Juvenile Law Center, said that youth are unlikely to get in trouble for possessing nude selfies. "Child pornography typically requires possessing the nude photo for sexual purposes. Possessing a nude photo of yourself does not really fit that definition (or concern)," she told The Huffington Post. "Child pornography is aimed at the sexual exploitation of children -- that is simply not present here."

But legal experts say outdated laws, which designate a teen both victim and perpetrator, are still problematic. Marina Medvin, a criminal defense lawyer in Virginia -- which does not carve out exemptions for youth -- sees this as a free speech issue, she said.

"These kids are legally allowed to engage in sexual activity, but then they are precluded from photographing or depicting such an act," she said.

Between 2008 and 2009, cops handled an estimated 3,477 cases of youth-produced sexual images, according to a national survey of law enforcement agencies taken by researchers at the University of New Hampshire. Two-thirds of the cases involved an aggravating circumstance beyond creating and sending the image -- for example, an adult was involved or the teen engaged in non-consensual behavior. Sex offender registration "applied in only a few unusual cases," the researchers noted.

Medvin said she has not seen a case where a prosecutor went after a kid for possessing nude content of him- or herself, but she has seen law enforcement use it as a pretext for an investigation. "They ask the parents nicely, 'Hey, can I have your kids' phone?'" she said.

But Crystal Nosal, a spokeswoman for the Alexandria Police Department in Virginia, said that generally, police are not going to investigate teenagers for having a pictures of themselves on their phones. "Obviously that changes if it's been sent," she said.

No search warrant appears to have been issued for the boy's phone in the North Carolina case, the Fayetteville Observer reported. Law enforcement asked the boy's mother for the phone as part of a statutory rape investigation in which the boy was not a suspect, Sean Swain, a sergeant with the Cumberland County Sheriff's Department, told Fox News.

"Of the five charges he faces, four of them are for taking and possessing nude photos of himself on his own phone -- the final charge is for possessing one nude photo his girlfriend took for him," Ars Technica reported.

States that have carved out sexting from child pornography laws aim to allow youths like the North Carolina boy to avoid traditional prosecution by taking part in classes or other alternative approaches to punishment. But under these newer laws, teens can still get in some trouble for possessing images of themselves. In Georgia, teen sexting that does not involve distribution -- in other words, just taking a nude selfie -- is a misdemeanor. 

"No kid should be arrested for it," said Meg Strickler, a criminal defense attorney in Georgia. "Our criminal justice system is already overwhelmed, let’s not add to it with arrests on teen sexting where a criminal arrest record will follow them forever."

A handful of states, including Arkansas and Texas, say that teenagers who create images of themselves and don't share them can claim that as a defense. But legislatures struggle with drawing the line in morality policing. Some states, for example, exempt juveniles who take steps to destroy the image, but it's not clear how fast the image has to be erased.

As lawmakers and prosecutors continue to grapple with the issue, there is concern that some kids could have their futures permanently damaged for engaging in typical teenage behavior.

"Child pornography laws were intended strictly to protect children, but they're harming children," said Pittman, of the Center on Youth Registration Reform. "That's why the North Carolina case is so egregious." ..Source.. by Dana Liebelson

Read More of Article...

Article Summary only...

Teens Still Sending Naked Selfies

10-20-2014 Utah:

A new study from the University of Utah confirms that substantial numbers of teens are sexting – sending and receiving explicit sexual images via cellphone. Though the behavior is widely studied, the potentially serious consequences of the practice led the researchers to more accurately measure how frequently teens are choosing to put themselves at risk in this fashion.

The study surveyed 1,130 undergraduate students about their experiences sexting in high school. Nearly 20 percent reported they had sent a nude photo of themselves to another via cellphone and 38 percent had received such a picture. Of the number who had received a sext, nearly one in five had forwarded the picture to someone else.

“The results are nearly identical to the findings from our 2013 study of high school students,” said Don Strassberg, professor of psychology at the University of Utah and lead author on both studies. “We believe the consistency reflects a valid estimate of the prevalence of teen sexting – and the numbers are considerable.”

Strassberg points out the risks of using a cellphone to send intimate messages goes well beyond that of sharing say, print photographs as a form of flirting.

“Nothing has changed in that realm – except that the technology makes it easy and thus, more vulnerable to misuse,” he said. “You lose control of the image the moment you push ‘send.’ From there the risks, which can be especially grave for teens, range from embarrassment and humiliation to unwanted sexual advances to cyberbullying and blackmail, and though rare, possibly to felony charges for pornography trafficking because they are minors.”

According to Strassberg, the results of the two sexting studies from his lab, as well as those from studies conducted across the U.S., demonstrate that sending naked selfies is not limited to former U.S. congressmen or Hollywood starlets, but is going on in high schools across the country and in significant numbers. This behavior continues, despite the potentially serious consequences that can occur when sexting goes wrong.

How the study was conducted

The research, published online in the journal Computers in Human Behavior, was conducted at the University of Utah over a three-year period. Participants were students enrolled in undergraduate psychology classes and queried about their experiences sexting during high school – after 2007, when it became more commonplace. Though the research was completed at a single, public institution, a quarter of the 1,130 students surveyed attended high school outside Utah, and 7 percent outside the United States, providing a measure of economic and geographic diversity.

In addition, the definition of “sext” used in the study was very specific – sending, receiving and forwarding sexually explicit cellphone photos that reveal genitals of either sex or female breasts. The specificity of the definition and study design were intended to overcome the methodological variety of other previous studies and draw more reliable conclusions about how widespread sexting is.

“Sexting is far from a rare occurrence,” said Strassberg, “and the ability of a recipient to forward on a sext to others can be problematic, especially for young women who share an explicit photo. Because once a sext has been sent, the sender has no control over who, or how many, will eventually see that picture. Other than the adolescent mentality that overestimates benefits over risks, we don’t yet know why teens are choosing to put themselves at risk.”

And although men and women both sext, there are striking differences between the sexes. Equal numbers of men and women reported that they had sent a sext, but significantly more men than women said they had received a sext – 47.1 percent of males versus 32.1 percent of females. That may be in large part because of the participants who had received a sext, men were significantly more likely to have forwarded the picture than were women, 24.2 percent versus 13 percent.

Who gets sexts? Mostly “boyfriend/girlfriends,” although women indicated that as the target 83 percent of the time, while for men it was 55 percent. Men sent sexts to “a friend (not a boyfriend/girlfriend)” 31 percent of the time versus 15 percent for the women in the survey. Strikingly, men said they sexted “someone I wanted to date or hook up with” (12 percent) or “an acquaintance I just met” (2.4 percent), while women did neither. Strassberg concludes that these differences, which are all statistically significant, are consistent with findings that men have more positive attitudes toward casual sex than do women.

Researchers also looked at the role of religiosity in a teen’s sexting behavior. Participants were asked to rate the importance of religion in their lives on a five-point scale from “extremely important” to “not at all important.” Those describing religion as extremely important were far less likely to have sent a sext than others, only 4.6 percent for males and 6.9 percent for females. The same difference between those rating religion as extremely important and others held for those having received a sext – only 10.8 percent for males and 10.7 for females – even though they have less control over receiving than sending.

Strassberg concludes that there are still a number of important questions about teen sexting that need reliable answers before adults can decide how – or even if – they should respond to the popular phenomenon. Further study is warranted to better understand teen motives, get a clearer sense of their appreciation of possible consequences of sexting and whether sexting increases or decreases initiation of physical sexual interaction, among other issues. ..Source.. by Research from the U News

Read More of Article...

Article Summary only...

Jacques: Could your teen face child porn charges?

10-20-2014 Michigan:

Michigan teens beware. An indiscreet photo on your phone or computer could land you in court as a felony sex offender.

Sex has always preoccupied teens. With the broad proliferation of cellphones and social media, however, young people have a wealth of new ways to make bad decisions.

"Anyone who has a teenager — or has been one — knows that they are impulsive, they feel that they are invincible, and may not understand the long-term implications or the gravity of their actions," says Rana Elmir, deputy director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan.

Sexting could even place teens on the sex offender registry, Elmir says.

Consider what's going on right now in Rochester Community Schools, where 30 high school students could face felony charges for sending and spreading suggestive pictures of themselves and other teens.

And Michigan State Police officials are investigating high school students in Romeo for sexting.

It's ironic that child pornography laws designed to protect young people could be turned on these same youth.

"The prosecution of these children would go against the intent of the laws that were meant to protect children from adults," Elmir says.

The Oakland County Sheriff's Department is investigating the Rochester situation after receiving a report last month from a police liaison officer at the school. Rochester Schools spokeswoman Debra Hartman says school officials didn't alert the Sheriff's Department and know little about the specifics of the case.

Paul Walton, chief assistant prosecutor for Oakland County, says the Prosecutor's Office hasn't seen any of the details of the Rochester case yet, though one fact is certain.

"There is no such thing as a sexting charge," says Walton.

That means teens can potentially be charged with very serious felonies relating to child pornography. The creation, distribution, solicitation or possession of sexually explicit material of a minor under 18 is a felony in Michigan. If charged as adults, students could get prison time.

Teens under 17 are considered juveniles and likely face much lighter punishment, Walton says. The Rochester students involved are under 17.

But the experience could still haunt them for life.

Given the wide number of youth that participate in sexting, education is a much better approach than criminalization. A study from researchers at Drexel University earlier this year found that 54 percent of college students surveyed had sent or received sexually explicit images or text images before the age of 18.

Walton says school officials often make decisions regarding how to handle instances involving sexting and similar behavior. Schools should warn students about the dangers of sexting.

And many schools in Oakland County have worked with County Prosecutor Jessica Cooper to present middle and high school students with the consequences they could face.

Yet school districts should stop short at turning such cases over to the police.

This is a matter best handled between the students and their parents. Just as parents have to talk to their children about the dangers of drugs and sex, they now have to include subjects like sexting and social media bullying.

And there should be ramifications for such behavior — perhaps suspension from school, getting grounded or lost phone privileges. But legal action that could impact a teen's future doesn't protect anyone.

"While there's no doubt that the students used poor judgment and should deal with the consequences of their actions, criminal charges are a hard price to pay for teens exploring their sexuality," Elmir says. "We can use this as a teachable moment without throwing the book at them." ..Source.. by Ingrid Jacques is deputy editorial page editor of The Detroit News.

Read More of Article...

Article Summary only...

Why Kids Sext

10-18-2014 National:

It was late on a school night, so Jennifer’s kids were already asleep when she got a phone call from a friend of her 15-year-old daughter, Jasmine. “Jasmine is on a Web page and she’s naked.” Jennifer woke Jasmine, and throughout the night, the two of them kept getting texts from Jasmine’s friends with screenshots of the Instagram account.

It looked like a porn site—shot after shot of naked girls—only these were real teens, not grown women in pigtails. Jennifer recognized some of them from Jasmine’s high school. And there, in the first row, was her daughter, “just standing there, with her arms down by her sides,” Jennifer told me. “There were all these girls with their butts cocked, making pouty lips, pushing their boobs up, doing porny shots, and you’re thinking, Where did they pick this up?

And then there was Jasmine in a fuzzy picture looking awkward.” (The names of all the kids and parents in this story have been changed to protect their privacy.) You couldn’t easily identify her, because the picture was pretty dark, but the connection had been made anyway. “OMG no f‑ing way that’s Jasmine,” someone had commented under her picture. “Down lo ho,” someone else answered, meaning one who flies under the radar, because Jasmine was a straight‑A student who played sports and worked and volunteered and was generally a “goody-goody two shoes,” her mom said. She had long, silky hair and doe eyes and a sweet face that seemed destined for a Girl Scouts pamphlet, not an Instagram account where girls were called out as hos or thots (thot stands for “that ho over there”).

That night, in March of this year, Jennifer tried to report the account to Instagram’s privacy-and-safety center, hoping it would get taken down. She asked several friends to fill out the “report violations” page too, but after a few hours, the account was still up. (Instagram’s help center recommends contacting local authorities in cases of serious abuse.)

She considered calling 911, but this didn’t seem like that kind of emergency. So she waited until first thing the next morning and called a local deputy sheriff who serves as the school resource officer, and he passed the message on to his superior, Major Donald Lowe. Over the years, Lowe had gotten calls from irate parents whose daughters’ naked pictures had popped up on cellphones, usually sent around by an angry boyfriend after a breakup.

But he immediately realized that this was a problem of a different order. Investigation into the Instagram account quickly revealed two other, similar accounts with slightly different names. Between them, the accounts included about 100 pictures, many of girls from the local high school, Louisa County High, in central Virginia. Some shots he later described to me as merely “inappropriate,” meaning girls “scantily clad in a bra and panties, maybe in a suggestive pose.” But some “really got us”—high-school girls masturbating, and then one picture showing a girl having sex with ..Continued.. by Hanna Rosin

Read More of Article...

Article Summary only...

Sexting and sharing passwords -- adults are engaging in risky behavior

2-4-2014 National:

As technology advances, so does the potential for its misuse. As smartphones gain better cameras and higher speed data connections, the likelihood of sharing naughty photos and videos increases. Sadly, this can end up harming both parties if it leaks online. The person in the photo or video can be embarrassed and the person that shares the content can possibly be charged with new "revenge porn" laws.

This risky behavior is becoming an epidemic, not only regarding sexual content, but other things too. With that said, McAfee announces the results of a recent survey, and they are quite troubling.

"Today, McAfee released the findings from its 2014 Love, Relationships & Technology survey. For a second year in a row, the company examined how more than 1,500 consumers are sharing and storing intimate data on their mobile devices, especially with current or former significant others. The study highlights how sharing personal content such as suggestive texts, naked photos, suggestive video and passcodes on these devices can potentially lead to cyber-stalking and the exposure of private content leaking online", says McAfee.

Gary Davis, vice president of McAfee consumer business explains, "with all the stories we've heard about intimate photos being leaked, it's hard to believe people are still sharing their passwords. Ultimately, they're increasing the risks of these photos becoming public and possibly jeopardizing their identity and reputation. Consumers must take precautions and use mobile security to ensure that what should be private stays private".

Shockingly, 96 percent of US adults admit to sharing sexual content with a significant other. Of course, relationships do not always last, so this can be extremely risky. When the relationship does end, only 32 percent ask the other party to delete the content. This can be fuel for the revenge porn fire.

Men however, are more likely than women to secure their mobile device with a password or other means of security at 74 percent. Women aren't far off at 65 percent. Hopefully fingerprint technologies such as the one used on the new iPhone 5s will cause these numbers to increase for both genders. After all, many people do not secure the device do to inconvenience of unlocking.

The most unbelievable finding, sure to make security professionals cringe, is that 46 percent of these US adults share their passwords with other individuals. Not only that but 42 percent of users use the same password on multiple devices. As McAfee points out, this increases the chances of a user or their device becoming hacked. ..Continued.. by Brian Fagioli

Read More of Article...

Article Summary only...

Does Snapchat offer safe sexting from smartphones, or a false sense of security?

11-6-2012 National:

Millions of teenagers have adopted a smartphone app which has been touted as a way of safely "sexting" and sharing naked pictures. But is it really a safe way to share intimate photographs of yourself?

Snapchat, which is available for both iPhone and Android devices, describes how senders can control how long a message or picture can be seen for, before it expires after a maximum of 10 seconds:

Snapchat is the fastest way to share a moment with friends.

You control how long your friends can view your message – simply set the timer up to ten seconds and send.

They’ll have that long to view your message and then it disappears forever. We’ll let you know if they take a screenshot!

It sounds like a neat solution, if the picture is only visible for 10 seconds - that reduces the opportunity for others to forward it around the school campus, or post it for all to see on Facebook.

But the truth is that anyone can take a screenshot of their device (if they are nimble fingered enough) and create their own copy of the image.

The Snapchat app says it will tell you if someone takes a screenshot, but what action are you going to take if you share a photo in confidence, only to discover that someone has chosen to keep a permanent record?

Furthermore, there are "how-to" guidelines online explaining how jailbroken iPhones can subvert Snapchat, and take snapshots without informing the image's sender.

A less high-tech method to grab the image is to simply take a photograph of the phone that has just received the nude photo. And then there's no way the Snapchat app can tell you if that's happened.

Some experts in the field of child safety online are clearly concerned that young people and children might be fooled into thinking that Snapchat is a safe way to share nude and inappropriate photographs of themselves.

Snapchat's privacy policy even admits that it can't actually promise any naked photos you send through the app will be only available for ten seconds.

"Although we attempt to delete image data as soon as possible after the message is transmitted, we cannot guarantee that the message contents will be deleted in every case. For example, users may take a picture of the message contents with another imaging device or capture a screenshot of the message contents on the device screen. Consequently, we are not able to guarantee that your messaging data will be deleted in all instances. Messages, therefore, are sent at the risk of the user."

Snapchat, which has received a 12+ rating from Apple for "Infrequent/Mild Sexual Content or Nudity", is already wildly popular. The firm's co-founder Evan Spiegel told TechCrunch that as of October 29th, users had shared over 1 billion photos ("snaps") on the iOS application.

As of today, Snapchat was No. 2 in the list of top free photography apps, just after YouTube, and ahead of Instagram. ...continued... by Graham Cluley

Read More of Article...

Article Summary only...

Nude photo of student puts another N.J. middle school at center of sexting incident

5-23-2011 New Jersey:

New Jersey schools are dealing with another nude photo incident involving a student. This time, it's an Eisenhower Middle School student in Wyckoff. Officials announced the students involved had until yesterday to delete the photo or face consequences.

An argument amongst four students prompted an investigation by schoolteachers who found the nude photo of the 13-year-old student on a cell phone, and telephoned police. While there are no plans to inspect the students cell phones, Police Chief Benjamin Fox told the Record any students in possession of the photo after May 19 could be charged with endangering the welfare of a child or possession of child pornography, FoxNews reported.

Almost a week ago, nude photos of a Reynolds Middle School student took of herself for her boyfriend began appearing on the cell phones of other students after the young couple broke off their relationship. The nude photos may have even gone viral.

The Hamilton Township, Mercer County school administrators appear to be trying to keep the incident from blowing up. Principal Joseph Slavin told ABC News that any comment on the incident would have to come from the Superintendent’s office, but calls from ABC to the office have gone unanswered.

According to ABC, New Jersey State Police detective Cy Bleistine said once the photo made its way from one friend who then told ten friends, the picture is "gone." New Jersey State Police want to warn parents, and their children.

Any photo, especially an inappropriate photo can circulate from one person to the world within seconds and once it's out there, it's out there forever. A foolish act of indiscretion that makes its way to the World Wide Web can cause a lifetime of regret. Children don't really think of that when they're circulating such items.

State police are cautioning people that New Jersey has a law making it illegal to transmit sexually explicit photos without the consent of the person in them. The kids who are doing it could be prosecuted if caught.

Disseminating sexually suggestive photos, called "sexting" when done by cell phone, has become a nationwide problem for parents, school administrators and law enforcers.

In 2008, seven Pascack Valley High School freshmen students were suspended for the rest of the school year after officials say they disbursed racy photos of middle school students via cell phones and school-issued laptops. Teachers were made aware of the incident by another student and alerted Hillsdale police, district Superintendent Benedict Tantillo III, NorthJersey.com reported.

The photos featured more than 20 students in vary states of undress from the waist up, with their bare breasts exposed. Incidents of teenagers distributing vulgar or sexually explicit cell phone pictures of themselves have surfaced in several cities across the United States. Psychologists say the phenomenon reflects young hormones and impulsivity, with technology increasing the potential for long-term humiliation. It may also reflect a vogue for exhibitionism, as demonstrated on MySpace, YouTube and other websites, NorthJersey.com reported, according to freerepublic.com.

In 2009, following a tip from The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to state task force officials, who alerted the Passaic County Sheriff's Office, a 14-year-old New Jersey girl was charged with possession and distribution of child pornography after posting nearly 30 lewd photos of herself on MySpace.com, reported the New York Daily News.

Maureen Kanka, the mother of Megan, the child who was raped and killed at age seven in 1994 by a twice convicted sex offender and for whom "Megan's Law" was name for, criticized authorities for charging the 14-year-old girl saying the teenager needed counseling and guidance, not prosecution.

Kanka stated that the incident, should not have fell under Megan's Law because the only person the girl exploited was herself. ..Source.. by ALICIA CRUZ

Read More of Article...

Article Summary only...