![]() ![]() The risks of too much online ‘exposure’ are clear. If it turns out that the predominant use of photo vault applications is for illegal activities, perhaps more restriction is in order. ![]() The photo vault companies should, by regulation, be required to carry a prominent warning informing of potential criminal penalties for teen sexters. With such serious legal repercussions, educators and photo vault purveyors are obligated to inform teens on the law. An 18-year-old teen sexter, an ‘adult’ by law, could also be charged as a child pornographer and subsequently, a sex offender. In the Colorado Cañon City High School case, students face Class 3 felony charges, which, if upheld, cannot be expunged from their record. No matter how strong and well crafted, privacy policies cannot be used to conceal criminal activity. These platforms provide a false sense of security and anonymity for teen sexters. Although photo vault applications may appear harmless, they subject unwitting users to criminal charges in many states including California. They share similarities with “darknet” websites such as Silk Road, which once provided a platform for a variety of illegal transactions. However, for minors, these applications provide a forum for unlawful activities. There are completely legal uses of these apps, depending on the nature of the photos and the age of the user. Another app, Photo Vault, uses decoy passwords to stump “snoopers.” Once inside, users can send private messages and store illicit photos. “Calculator Lock,” one photo vault application, transforms from a calculator into a secret vault where users can store photos, messages or browse the internet. The app developers have escaped scrutiny so far. There is no doubt that photo vault apps provide a covert distribution platform for nude photos of minors. No one, it seems, has questioned whether the hundreds of photo vault app makers will share the legal responsibility for teen sexting. The same study found that 61 percent of sexters were unaware that sending ‘sexts’ could be considered child pornography, a felony charge. ![]() Very few of these students are aware that, aside from being edgy, it may also have severe consequences under the law. According to a 2014 Drexel University study, 54 percent of university students surveyed said they ‘sexted’ as minors. Recent statistics show that ‘sexting’ is very common among high school students. ![]() Once a “sex offender,” the label remains for life, and can limit one’s ability to find housing and employment.Īlthough Redwood students would probably find this punishment wildly disproportionate, the same thing could happen here under current California law, in accordance with. In using these applications, the accused Cañon City students face potentially serious criminal charges, which may require that they register as sex offenders. While distributing child pornography may not be the app’s intended purpose, under many existing child pornography laws including the law in California, this activity alone may be a crime. These photos were covertly stored and shared on phone applications known as “photo vaults,” disguised, in some cases, as calculator apps.īy providing a distribution platform for what is child pornography under the law, photo vault companies are culpable as ‘enablers.’ Photo vault app developers should share in the punishment, via fines or other means, for the life altering outcomes to teens who used their apps and are charged or convicted of “sex crimes.” Hundreds of naked photos were exchanged between high school students at Cañon City High School in Colorado, prompting a felony investigation by police on Nov. ![]()
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