Miracle World Media Blog

Last week, it was reported that a 14-year-old girl who posted nude pictures on MySpace was charged with Child Pornography, even though she is a minor.

Last Year, a 17-year-old boy posted nude pictures of his 16-year-old ex-girlfriend.

Because of the increased popularity of social networks (e.g. Facebook, MySpace), a small number of teens are using this medium for posting inappropriate content, mainly nude pictures.

Local authorities are having some difficulty with such cases because laws that deal with the possession and exchange of nude pictures of minors assume that the person who broke the law is an adult. As of now, laws have not been adjusted to account for minors who technically break the law. Some local authorities have been threatening to charge minors with possession and distribution of child pornography in the hope that minors will stop this behavior.

I believe that the problem is that teens do not have the concept that passing around or posting nude pictures is illegal and is a very serious offense. Another related phenomenon is “sexting”, which is text messaging that is sexually motivated and that can contain nude pictures. In January 2009, the National Campaign to Support Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy reported that 20 percent of all teens admit to “sexting”. At this rate, local authorities will not be able to keep up with prosecuting every case.

The main punishment for distribution of child pornography is registering as a sexual offender. Once being labeled as a sexual offender, the stigma that goes with it will make it hard for the person to go on with their life as a normal person, such as in finding employment.

Local governments nationwide should seriously consider enacting mandatory training that would educate high school students about the dangers of social networks and texting. As Web 2.0 technologies (e.g. YouTube, Digg, Facebook) become more intertwined with our daily lives, it will become more difficult to stay within the sometimes vague “outdated” 20th century laws that do not confront the realities of the 21st century. Nevertheless, parents are completely responsible for what their children do as minors.

Tags: myspace, social media, web 2.0