Sexting and the Constitution

There's texting, and then, if you are a teen with especially bad judgment, there's "sexting," sharing suggestive photos via cell phone. Should that be grounds for child pornography charges? Alex Witt and I talked about this provocative topic Saturday: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/29929467#29929467

It's a controversial idea that authorities in at least eight states are considering. But they should keep an eye on Pennsylvania, where yesterday a federal judge temporarily stopped a prosecutor from filing child porn charges against three teens whose cell phone photos were discovered by their school. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29964324/

Their parents enlisted the ACLU to fight the threatened charges, asserting they have First Amendment rights to their photos, and due process rights to parent the way they see fit without the prosecutor's intervention. (The prosecutor says he may appeal this ruling, calling it a "dangerous precedent.")

If, as the judge's ruling may suggest, criminal prosecution seems an inappropriate way to deter texting teens (and it does to me), what should parents and other adults do? For some perspective on the issue, I spoke with Harvard Law School Professor John Palfrey, author of Born Digital http://borndigitalbook.com and chair of a task force report on Internet safety for kids. http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/research/isttf

Palfrey doesn't advocate new "sexting" laws, or even increased legal oversight. Instead, he thinks the law may be a backstop, but the front line against sexting or other inappropriate web disclosure by teens must be careful attention from parents, teachers and mentors. If it's any consolation to worried adults, kids generally get better at drawing boundaries the longer they've been on the web, he says. (Could this be an argument in favor of letting kids spend MORE time on the web, I wonder?)