Ways You Might Be Breaking the Law (With Your Tech)
1. Cellphone Porn
A picture's worth a thousand words‹most of them expletives if it's a naked photo you take with your cellphone. A recent survey shows that 20-percent of our nubile juvenile cellphone users have moved beyond dirty text messages and on to "sexting"-- sending naked or partially naked photos of themselves to friends. (The most famous case involved naked pics of 'High School Musical' star Vanessa Hudgens, meant for her boyfriend Zac Efron, which wound up on the Internet.) But it's not just embarrassing, it may be illegal. In Pennsylvania, for example, police have threatened to charge several teenagers with pornography for either sending or receiving dirty pics. The ACLU, meanwhile, has come to their defense, claiming that sending photos -- even provocative ones -- is protected free speech.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
dhfabian said 3:14PM on 5-07-2009
Illegal or not, defamation is central to our national dialogue. It is what shapes public opinion and what drives our policies. We are highly dependent on defamation as a short-cut, enabling us to make decisions without studying, weighing or debating facts and statistics. It is the power of defamation that has taught us that Arabs are terrorists, poor people are lazy trash, and cigaret smokers are bringing on Armageddon. We are dependent on defamation to understand the world, and government and media use it generously to teach us what to think.
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leroyfoster4626 said 4:34PM on 5-07-2009
dhfabian,
You have hit the nail right on the head with your posted message. Our society is manipulated continuously with defaming information on a variety of subjects. Even though we enjoy the First Amendment right to free speech, the media distorts this right and engages in campains to distort public opinion and perception; the public pressures poliyicians and legislators; and what was legal one day, is legislated into the crimes code the next day. I agree that there must be parameters set in regard to "untruths" or "partial truths" that are presented to the public and passed as irrefutable truth. I hope there are more of us out there that do not always "drink the kool-aid" that is forced down our throats on a daily basis. If a person wnats to text a naked picture of themselves to a consenting message receiver, then whats the harm??
Richard said 3:30PM on 5-07-2009
Want to Stop Sexting, CyberBullying & Digital Disease?
The Institute for Responsible Online and Cell-Phone Communication has an effective method for dealing with the vast number of digital issues we are aware of (like the trend du jour known as "sexting"), and those that we will be aware of soon.
Despite this fact however, our nation and media seem to be content with treating these digital, 21st century issues, with an "old school" 20th century approach. Unfortunately, based on past headlines regarding "spyware" and "cyber bullying" and now with the national fixture of sexting in the news, it appears we are failing an entire digital generation.
Fortunately however, there is an effective way to save this new generation for those of us willing to listen. It is through The Institute for Responsible Online and Cell-Phone Communication's concept of "Responsibility 2.1C".
Think about it...
1: Can you honestly say that you have never been irresponsible either as a kid touching a hot stove, or smoking (underage), or drinking underage, or trying drugs?
2: Did you always listen to your parents, teachers or caretakers when they told you not to do these things and offered you a ton of information about why you shouldn't?
3: Have you ever been irresponsible or break the law as an adult (e.g. speeding, running a red light)?
4: Have you ever posted your status on Facebook as "On Vacation", "Traveling" or "Out"?
Well if you answered ?NO? to any of the questions above (even # 4), your life may have been over at a very young age (or it could be altered soon) as is the case for many people of today?s digital generation, because it only takes a few seconds of irresponsibility online to ruin your life.
For Example: Lighting up a cigarette, or trying a beer at the age of 17 most of the time, will not instantly alter your life, or affect your loved one's lives, or the life or someone halfway around the globe. However, as we have read lately, in the time it takes a 17 year old to press the send button on a cell phone with a naked picture attached (less time to finish a drag of a cigarette or sip of beer) he/she could be placed in jail and registered as a sex offender.
Simply saying, ?don?t do that? to a kid or flooding them with "tip sheets" and facts did not work when you were one, so why would it work now? The real difference and alarming issue is that the digital technologies available to our youth deliver instant consequences that can alter their life. Fortunately, it appears that the Institute's concept of Responsibility 2.1C may just be the way to reach this new generation.
Richard Guerry, the visionary behind the concept of "Responsibility 2.1C" and co-founder of The Institute for Responsible Online and Cell-Phone Communication recently stated that "We as a nation need to provide direct proactive communication of Digital Responsibility (Responsibility 2.1C) to a new generation. We cannot be reactionary treating today's digital issues, and we cannot resolve them with 20th century threats, reprimand and curriculum." He went on to say, "The real problem is our youth has grown up learning what we call responsibility 1.0 or offline responsibility. They do not understand the scope of the repercussions when they invoke poor (digital) judgment because they have not been proactively taught digital responsibility or what we call, responsibility 2.1C. We cannot apply 20th century solutions to 21st century issues."
Find out more about how you can support The Institute for Responsible Online and Cell-Phone Communication and help them save your community by visiting www.iroc2.org or www.sextingisstupid.com
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George Hawkes said 4:13PM on 5-07-2009
There is nothing wring with sexting. There should be no laws against it.
I have to laugh police, das, judges say how awful it is and try to inforce out dated laws against a teen age piece sending her nude picture to a lucky guy.
YET these same police, das, judges in private would be one of the first in line to have these cute piece sit naked on their faces. if they could get away with it.
Teenage women are on this earth to please us men. Keep up the good work girlls!!
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ladyxboxthegreat said 5:10PM on 5-07-2009
Yeah I understand how that can be illegal, especially when there's a 40 year old man sending a 17 year old girl naked pictures but we all know that this isn't going to be monitored anyway. The only way for something to happen is if it's reported.
And by the way, the picture of V. Hudgens was sent before she even met Efron..
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austderstine said 6:37PM on 5-07-2009
So What!!!!! who cares!!! this should not be a law or a crime!!! people talk sex and we all know that.... That's how god made us to do HAVE SEX! sexting is nothing.. police and the people that who record texting, e-mails, and phone calls should not be in charge of this. Its the people's choice if they all want to talk about sex or not...
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momprayn said 8:03PM on 5-07-2009
How about.....landing you in a hot....place.
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bitchplease said 10:58AM on 5-08-2009
that picture of vanessa was taken years before her and zac started dating. It was actually being sent to another boyfriend of hers [drake bell] and it was taken on a digital camera [ not a cell phone] then transmitted though the internet
get your fact straight
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