US Rep. Anthony Weiner's very public personal disaster story has made sexting top-of-mind again, but there's good news in all this: More and more states are considering "relaxing penalties for teen sexting," as the Boston.com headline put it, because lawmakers throughout the US are now recognizing that "the problem of teen sexting didn’t exist when they enacted harsh punishments for child porn and … [Read more...] about The teen sexting ‘trainwreck’ & state laws
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Of school policy on sexting
The Cyberbullying Research Center has some helpful policy-development advice for schools – policy all middle and high schools should have in place, says Sameer Hinduja, author, researcher, and co-director of the Center. I so agree, because clearly stated and implemented policy reduces the emotion and politics that only add to the emotional harm some students incur by having extremely embarrassing … [Read more...] about Of school policy on sexting
Sexting: What to tell a kid sent nude photos via cellphone
Delete them, plain and simple. That's what criminology professor Justin Patchin at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire advises teens in his blog. Parents, this is not what you'll hear from law enforcement people or school personnel because their jobs require them to obtain and report evidence of a crime. But if kids "follow this advice, they risk prosecution for possession of child porn if a … [Read more...] about Sexting: What to tell a kid sent nude photos via cellphone
Update in Susquenita student sexting case
I'm confused: A Pennsylvania district attorney says that, in prosecuting kids, "he is just trying to protect kids," CBSNEWS.com reports. Perry County District Attorney Charles Chenot told CBS that child pornography charges were the only ones that fit the activity of the eight Susquinita high school students involved in a sexting incident last fall (for more see my earlier post "Susquenita, PA, … [Read more...] about Update in Susquenita student sexting case
State attorney general on sexting
It's good to hear a state attorney general – in this case, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott – saying teens shouldn't necessarily be prosecuted for sexting. His view was cited in a sexting story that may involve prosecution because it allegedly involves blackmail on the part of a high school student. report by the Brownsville Herald. It started with flirting, according to the Herald. "Jorge … [Read more...] about State attorney general on sexting