For those not in the know, sexting is a trend amongst teenagers these days. They use their cell phone to take a photo of themselves (wearing little to no clothing) and send it to their current heart throb. Of course, what happens after that can vary dramatically.
Sometimes the recipient is mature about it. The photo is views as "for my eyes only" and that's the end of it.
Sometimes, however, the photo is forwarded to other people.
At that point, one can argue the person who did the forwarding has engaged in the transmission of child pornography, which is a felony. Some supposedly good kids have made this mistake and are now suffering for it. Critics of considering this illegal want to change the laws to catch up to the technology.
Okay, let's address the first case -- the person in the photo is the one who sent it to... someone. Is that pornography? Well, yes. Is it illegal? I don't know. Should it be? No. Is it stupid. Undoubtedly.
Of course, the issue becomes grey if the recipient doesn't want these sorts of things showing up on his or her phone. Let's ignore that issue, although it really shouldn't be ignored.
However, what happens if the recipient then laughs and forwards it to all his friends, posts it on the internet, etc?
Is that trafficking in child pornography? Yes. Should there be an associated punishment? Yes. Does it matter that "no harm was intended"?
Well, that last part is bullshit. I'm sorry but if my girlfriend gives me a racy picture, I think it doesn't take much common sense to assume the photo is for my eyes only. No harm intended? Bullshit! If I show it to someone else, I'm definitely intending harm to her reputation.
Personally, my take is this: publish some big cases of what happens. Make sure every teenager knows what can happen. Girls, you need to understand that the sweet guy you really like may treat you very well now, but are you sure he'll be so sweet if you have a fight? Break up? What if his friends start teasing him, and he feels the need to prove what a "man" he is? Are you sure he won't share your photo?
Guys, when you do share that photo, you're being a asshole of the n'th degree. That not enough to stop you? Well then, maybe we just need to up the stakes a little bit.
Both people need to take responsibility for what they are doing. 14-year-olds are old enough to understand that actions have consequences. As adults, it's our responsibility to make sure the teenagers understand the potential consequences. And if they choose to ignore it, then they need to accept responsibility for their actions.
I will say, however, that treating this with the severity of child pornography is certainly going overboard. There needs to be some sanity.
