8th-Grader Sells Nude Sext of Girlfriend

Bill moving through legislature to legalize sexually explicit teen communications

(NEWSER) - Vermont’s state government is in an awkward position. Current law has the state prosecuting teens who send sexually explicit pictures of themselves to each other—sexting—as sex offenders. The state Senate has passed a bill to exempt an exchange of images between people between 13 and 18 years old from classification as child pornography, reports the Burlington Free Press, and the state House will take up the bill this week. More»

'Internet cowboys and cowgirls' twist results of online surveys

(NEWSER) - One in five teenagers have shared naughty pictures of themselves over the phone or online—at least according to reports of the “sexting epidemic” that’s been causing hysteria lately. But the figure might be bogus, the Wall Street Journal reports, because it’s based on a voluntary online survey. “These kinds of samples select Internet cowboys and cowgirls,” said a researcher. More»

(NEWSER) - The recent—or recently discovered—“sexting” epidemic has produced a reasoned response from educators, and a wild overreaction from police,” Dahlia Lithwick writes on Slate. “Schools are enacting what amounts to a don't-ask-don't-tell policy” on teenagers sending out naked pictures of themselves, and others, she writes. But cops are hauling in high-schoolers on child pornography charges. “Cyber-humiliation shouldn't be grounds for a very real and possibly lifelong criminal record.” More»

Nude photos shared by phone could make senders sex offenders

(NEWSER) - Pennsylvania teens are in trouble over child-porn photos—of themselves. Three girls who took the pictures, and three boys who got them via cell phone, have been charged, Pittsburgh’s WPXI-TV reports. A student was caught with one of the phones in school in October, prompting a police investigation. But the charges violate the spirit of state child-pornography laws, says an attorney. More»

And 1 in 3 say they've received such photos

(NEWSER) - A New Hampshire teen suspended from school last week for sending a racy photo via cell phone wasn’t the first, the Boston Globe reports—and won’t be the last: One in five teens has uploaded a compromising image, and nearly one in three has received a half-naked or nude shot, a new online survey shows. More»