House lawmakers pass sexting bill to accommodate modern tech

Should kids face felonies for sexting? Right now they do in Washington state, but some state lawmakers are trying to change that.

Democratic Rep. Nicole Frame is sponsoring HB 1742, aiming to help Washington’s child pornography laws catch up to the realities of new technology and how kids are using it.

“We may not want to think about it, but several studies tell us about 20 percent of kids are using their phones to send sexually-explicit images of themselves, often times with a romantic partner,” Frame said during debate on the House floor this week.

“The disconnect between state law and current uses of technology by teenagers are creating the unintended consequence of lifelong barriers to success for teenagers,” Frame added.

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Under the current law, there is no distinction between kids and adults when it comes to possessing child porn. So teens sexting — sending sexually explicit pictures of themselves with one another — can face the same felony charge for possessing child porn as an adult would and be required to register as a sex offender.

This bill would change that charge to a misdemeanor for minors and also require a first-time offense be diverted.

If teens share intimate photos of third party minors, that’s a bit different. For example, a teen may share a photo on Snapchat, Facebook, or through texting, which would involved many, many viewers. Criminal penalties for that would also be lowered to a gross misdemeanor.

Several lawmakers, including Republican Brad Klippert are strongly opposed to the bill.

“There are standards of conduct that must be held. A moral quality, a moral standard that must stand in the station and cannot be crossed. And what this bill allows is a moral standard that cannot be crossed in this nation … in our schools,” Klippert said.

He was especially concerned with a lack of punishment, or deterrent for teens who may share such images for purposes other than sexting. Such as bullying, shaming, or harassing. He is also concerned about the risk of suicide that can sometimes come after being subjected to that type of harassment.

Consequences of sexting

But Rep. Frame argued having such tough penalties on the books, like we do now, can also put kids at risk when it comes to harassment, especially for a kid trying to report it or get help.

“Teenagers who have created or shared explicit images may be reluctant to seek adult help for fear of being prosecuted themselves,” she said. “Our schools and our parents … they’re even reluctant to intervene when something is happening because they know that all of the kids involved – even the kid whose image may have been shared without their consent – all kids involved – will be subject to a class B felony sex offense and they will be treated as sex offenders.”

Jimmy Hung heads up the King County Prosecutors Office juvenile division and supports the bill. He says the important thing to remember when it comes to kids using these images for harassment is that child pornography charges are not the only option.

“In instances where kids are engaging on that level of behavior that’s even more concerning, we can still charge them with harassment, for example, or cyber-stalking,” Hung said. “There are other crimes in the book that fit that additional level of severity, if you will? And so it allows us to appropriately address that conduct.”

Hung says this bill also allows for stiffer penalties for minors producing actual child pornography.

“Let’s say you’re 16 or 17 and you are producing pornography involving a child who is six, then you don’t get the benefit of these changes,” Hung said.

In those cases the bill still allows for prosecutors to file felony charges.

Hung argues the bill strikes the right balance between ensuring teens lives aren’t ruined, and the need to deter inappropriate or criminal behavior. He argues that not all cases require a felony child porn charge (which requires sex offender registration) over consequences teens may not understand. Especially in light of modern technology norms.

The bill cleared the House this week and now heads to the Senate, with the support of the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs, among others in law enforcement.

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