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A spate of "sexting" cases in the US has prompted calls for a change in the
law. But what is "sexting" and why has it left parents and prosecutors alike
wondering how to tackle it? The BBC's Penny Spiller reports.
It may seem like harmless fun to a 15-year-old wanting to impress their new
boyfriend or girlfriend.
But the practice of sexting - sending nude or semi-nude images of oneself to
others via mobile phones - is having unintended and, in some cases, tragic
consequences.
The risk of having one's private pictures distributed among schoolmates or
uploaded on to social-networking websites is only one part of it.
It could also lead to a criminal conviction as a sex offender for any teenager
who forwards them on to someone else.
Sending or distributing explicit photos of a child under 18 is, in many
countries, illegal. It is also illegal to send such photos to a minor - even if
both parties consent to it.
A spate of cases in the United States has seen several "sexting" teenagers
arrested on charges of child pornography - alarming parents, school officials,
police and prosecutors.
It has led people to ask whether threatening children with the same law that
was drawn up to protect them - and potentially creating many more sex offenders
- is the best way to tackle the phenomenon of "sexting"?
'Dangerous precedent'
One such case has ended up in a court in Pennsylvania and is being closely
watched by interested groups across the US.
The route to the courthouse began when several pictures of pupils in various
states of undress were discovered on other pupils' phones by staff at the local
school in Tunkhannock.
The technology is so new that people haven't found their moral compass when
using it
Bill Albert National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancies
The phones were handed to Wyoming County district attorney George Skumanick,
who decided to act.
He had been particularly alarmed by the case of Jessica Logan, an 18-year-old
from Ohio who took her own life after pictures she sent of herself to her
boyfriend ended up in the hands of fellow pupils.
Mr Skumanick offered the Tunkhannock pupils in question, around 20 of them, a
six-month education programme to learn more about the consequences of their
actions - and to help them avoid a child pornography charge.
Three girls - and their parents - refused to sign up, and are now suing Mr
Skumanick with the help of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
Mr Skumanick said he thought he was being "innovative and progressive" when he
offered the youngsters the classes.
"I didn't have to give them this opportunity. I could have just charged them,"
he told the BBC.
He says the recent arrest of a man in Georgia for allegedly making internet
contact with one of the pupils involved in the case justifies his concern. The
man has been charged with criminal solicitation and corruption of minors.
"Our main goal was simply for the pupils to go through the programme we had
developed to help them learn about the dangers of sexting," Mr Skumanick said.
But Witold Walczak, legal director for ACLU in Pennsylvania who is fighting the
case on behalf of the pupils, said the district attorney's actions risk setting
a dangerous precedent.
"Child porn is about the abuse and exploitation of minors by adults. That's not
happening here," he said.
"The kids who do this are doing potential harm to themselves. They are both the
perpetrator and the victim. Why would you want to compound that with a criminal
prosecution and conviction?"
Cyber-tattoo
This is one of at least 20 prosecutions that have been undertaken or threatened
in a number of US states in recent months.
JESSICA LOGAN
Jessica Logan, says her mother, was a "vivacious, fun" 18-year-old.
But her life changed when a nude photo of herself she sent to her boyfriend
ended up in the hands of hundreds of teenagers in her home city of Cincinnati,
Ohio.
For months, she faced taunts of "slut", "porn queen" and "whore". Insults were
posted on her MySpace and Facebook pages.
She became introverted and skipped classes, her friends say.
Despite this, Jessica went on local TV - her identity concealed - to "make sure
no-one else will have to go through this."
A few months later, in June 2008, she hanged herself in her bedroom.
Her devastated parents, Cynthia and Albert Logan, are now campaigning for
greater awareness of the dangers of sexting.
But it is not just an American problem. Cases have also been reported in Great
Britain, New Zealand and Australia.
The New South Wales state government in Australia launched an education
campaign this month after receiving reports that girls as young as 13 were
sexting.
"I urge parents to warn their children about the consequences of sexting,"
state Community Services Minister Linda Burney said.
"It may be a difficult conversation but I think every parent will agree it is a
very important one."
A survey of more than 1,000 teenagers in the US last year found that around one
in five 13 to 19 year olds had sent nude or semi-nude pictures of themselves
either by text or online.
A third of boys and a quarter of girls said they had had nude or semi-nude
images, originally meant to be private, shared with them, the National Campaign
to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancies found.
Bill Albert of the Washington-based organisation says today's generation of
teenagers needs to find a line between public and private behaviour in light of
the new technology.
"The line is very much more blurred than in the past. The technology is so new
that people haven't found their moral compass when using it," he told the BBC.
"The problem is that even if you think you are sending a picture only to your
boyfriend or girlfriend of the moment, it can go from private to global in a
nano-second.
"And something like that can stick with you, almost like a cyber-tattoo, for
the rest of your life."
Mr Albert said that while child porn laws are "an awfully severe and blunt
instrument", alerting teenagers to the legal consequences of their actions is
no bad thing.
"The teenagers in our survey were very surprised by the legal action taking
place," he said. "The legal consequences were very low on their list of
concerns."
Law changes
Parry Aftab, a leading authority on cybercrime, is campaigning for a change in
the law in the US.
She says the current legal options for dealing with cases of sexting "are
insane".
She wants to see children facing a misdemeanour charge rather than child
pornography - a much less serious offence that would eliminate the possibility
of a teenage offender having a criminal conviction and being labelled a sex
offender for years.
A number of states in the US are considering this approach.
Vermont has introduced a bill that would legalise the consensual exchange of
graphic images between two 13-to-18-year-olds, although passing on such images
would remain a crime.
Ohio is considering a proposal that would see the practice of sexting reduced
from a crime to a misdemeanour. Mr Skumanick would like Pennsylvania to
consider something similar.
However, ensuring laws are available so that prosecutors and police can still
act over sexting are vital, Ms Aftab says.
"It is dangerous behaviour that we don't want children to be encouraged to do,"
she told the BBC.
"Not only could these images end up in the hands of paedophile groups and place
kids at higher risk of being targeted, but they could also be subject to
extortion by those who have ended up with the images."