To continue the discussion of teen "sexting" from part 1 of this series, many people believe that teens who send sexually explicit images of themselves or other teens should be treated similarly to those caught sharing child pornography because of the potentially permanent damage that a single texted picture can have on an individual, especially if it is posted on the Internet, where it can continue being circulated for years.

Many state legislatures have begun attempting to create laws around this issue. Louisiana adopted a graduated approach in its penalties for minors who forward lewd pictures of other minors. Under that state's new law, a first offense brings a maximum penalty of 10 days in jail; a second offense could draw 30 days. But some believe this approach goes too far, and even violates teens' First Amendment rights. Others believe the penalties are too soft.

Arizona's legislature enacted a law in May under which children between the ages of 8 and 18 who send sexual images of a minor to only one other person will only be charged with a petty offense. If the offender sends the image to multiple people, he or she could be charged with more serious sex offenses, however, which could carry jail time and/or inclusion in the sex offender registry.

Pennsylvania currently has a proposed bill that would require teenagers caught "sexting" to participate in educational programs that explore bullying and the dangers of sharing of sexually suggestive material.

As we mentioned in our previous post, one of the considerations is how to deal with the various different forms "sexting" can take. For example, the context of an image is quite different when it is shared privately between two people in a romantic relationship than when such images are posted publicly by a bully trying to humiliate a classmate.

Oklahoma has proposed a law that would impose lower penalties for consensual "sexting" between two people aged 14 to 18, and more serious penalties for all other types of "sexting."

In the end, most lawmakers believe they will have to continue to tweak their criminal statutes to "cope with changing technologies."

Source: The Wall Street Journal, "Are 'Sext' Messages a Teenage Felony or Folly?" August 25, 2010