Source: Mobilecrunch.com

Connecticut lawmakers are in the midst of finding  a way to keep young people off the state’s sex offender registry if convicted of “sexting.”  Several states in the US are re-examining their child pornography laws to help protect minors who send sexually explicit text messages.

Florida and Connecticut are the latest to be added to that list and both are in works to pass a bill that lessens the charges for minors who happen to engage in this technologically advanced form of “show me yours, I’ll show you mine.”

Connecticut lawmakers met on Monday to discuss the proposed bill, which would reduce the charges of sexting to a misdemeanor from a felony if the text messages are between teens in a relationship and between the ages of 13 to 18.

Commissioner with Connecticut’s Department of Public Safety, John Danaher said this proposed bill “strikes a good balance between asserting the illegality of the activity while, at the same time, removing the age population from the serious consequences of being required to register as a sex offender.”

Florida lawmakers also met on Monday for their own proposed bill (HB1335) that has won initial approval from House committee members. This new bill will reduce the charge of sexting to 8 hours of community service. However, the second offense is punishable for up to 60 days in jail. A fourth time will be considered a third-degree felony and a teen can face up to five years in prison.

The Florida bill does provide some leeway, however. Any sexts sent within a 24 hour period will be considered one offense.

Rep. Joseph Abruzzo, a sponsor of the bill, says he believes this “will protect our children. We shouldn’t be labeling our children as sexual predators from this type of behavior.”

Canada is taking a bit of a different approach to tackle the issue of sexting. A group of grade 7 students in Fredericton, New Brunswick, are taking part in a pilot project that teaches them about safe texting.

The project involves a multitude of games, quizzes and discussion pages that allows the students to explore the world of texting and how it can easily go wrong with the click of a button.

“It actually talks about healthy relationships, it talks about sharing too much information online, it talks about what a true friend can be. So it’s all of those things together, so it’s a little more than just texting, just text-ed,” says Jared Mallard, a teacher of a grade 7 class who is participating in the project.

Mallard’s class is also putting together their own film to share their newfound knowledge with others. The film will deal with a girl named Erica who shares her social media passwords with her boyfriend and must deal with the repercussions when they break-up.

Over 250 students across Canada are currently taking part in the pilot project and the curriculum could be seen in all grade 7 classes across the country as early as next year.

Have you talked to your child/teen about sexting? Here’s a guide on how to talk to your child about it.  Also, click here to see our latest articles on sexting.

This begs the question, should youth-to-youth sexts be considered child pornography? What’s your take on the issue?

Sources:
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/cbc/100322/canada/canada_newbrunswick_nb_text_ed_pilot
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE62L4VK20100323
http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/03/23/1542440/house-bill-sexting-not-child-porn.html

Posted in Internet Safety | news, proposed bill, sexting, sexts, social media | |