School District PREYing on Students

The Lower Merion School District recently admitted to activating the webcams on 42 "missing" school-owned laptops without the knowledge or permission of students and their families. Surprisingly, the software that performs this function is not only widely available, it's free and downloadable by anyone. One such program is called Prey. It's open source and was recently discussed in this TechRepublic video. Prey is a lightweight program which runs in the background and is completely hidden to the end user. It's built in modules so an administrator can choose whether or not to install certain features like the ability to activate a laptop's webcam. ...

The Third Circuit’s Sexting Skeptics

More coverage and an update from the Legal Intelligencier on Friday's first ever federal appeals court hearing on sexing as child pornography: As the nation's first case involving criminal prosecutions of teenagers for "sexting" made its way to a federal appeals court in Philadelphia, all three judges seemed skeptical of the prosecutor's claim that child pornography laws are violated when a teen transmits a nude image of herself. The three 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals judges also appeared poised to declare that former Wyoming County District Attorney George Skumanick Jr. violated the First Amendment rights of three girls with his threat of a ...

Sexting Goes to Court – Miller v. Skumanick

This just in from the Legal Intelligencier: A federal appeals court on Friday takes up the growing practice of "sexting" — in which teenagers transmit nude and semi-nude photos of themselves and others by phone — as the judges tackle the vexing question of whether such images can be deemed child pornography. The appeal in Miller v. Skumanick stems from a civil rights suit brought by three Wyoming County girls against then-District Attorney George Skumanick Jr. alleging that he violated their First Amendment rights with his threat of a child pornography prosecution if they refused to take a class he had designed to educate youths about ...

1 in 4 Teens Engage in Sexting – Criminal Child Porn Activity

As recently as a year ago only 20% of teens were engaged in sexting. Now a new MTV-AP poll of teens aged 14 to 17 reveals that the practice is growing with 24% of underage teens involved in some kind of naked sexting. Here are some highlights from the survey: Girls are slightly more likely to have shared a naked photo or video of themselves (13%) than boys (9%). Those who have shared a naked photo or video mostly report that they initially sent the photo to a significant other or romantic interest. However, 29% of those who sent sexts report sending them to people they only know online and have never met in person. 24% sent sexts to people they ...

Decriminalizing Sexting?

Hot on the heels of a spate of high-profile sexting cases in New Jersey and the nation, New Jersey legislators are proposing alternatives to criminal prosecution that will effectively decriminalize teenage production and distribution of child pornography The sponsors say teenagers often engage in the practice out of a psychological vulnerability, not a criminal mindset, and the law should reflect that. The bills A-4069 (Pamela Lampitt, D-Camden) and S-2926 (James Beach, D-Camden), were introduced in June, just three months after the Passaic County Sheriff's Department charged a 14-year-old girl with distribution of child pornography for posting nude ...

Strip Searching is IN Sexting is OUT

Apparently strip searching is IN and sexting is OUT. Students take heed: adult school administrators have the Constitutional right to force you to remove your bra, panties and boxers anytime for almost any reason, but if you take a cell phone picture of it, you can be charged with producing child pornography with a ten year mandatory minimum in the federal pen. Yesterday the United States Supreme Court heard arguments in a case we've been following since last summer, Safford Unified School District v. Redding, No. 08-479. Early indications are that the Court will follow its traditional pattern in cases involving schools and drugs by giving school ...

XOb (Aftab Sexting a Federal Crime)

Cybersafety Queen Parry Aftab leads national effort to make sexting a federal crime Link

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