Remember adolescence? Raging hormones, awkward moments, embarrassing situations? Everyone remembers those years of sexual development with a bit of angst. It was difficult to navigate then, and it is just as difficult now.

Exploring one’s sexual identity during adolescence is normal, and we all stumbled our way through it. But how many of our stumbles resulted in criminal charges?

Pennsylvania House Bill 2189 would make “sexting,” the act of transmitting or receiving a provocative or nude photo of yourself or others, a crime — but only if you are a teenager between the ages of 13-17.

Recent research suggests that up to 20 percent of all teenagers have consensually sent or received some form of sexual message via text or e-mail — that means if found guilty under HB 2189, all of these teens could become ineligible for college loans, scholarships, military service and employment.

HB 2189 will overwhelm Pennsylvania’s juvenile court system and harm the children we are trying to protect.

For today’s adolescents, technology infiltrates everything they do, so when they express themselves — whether it’s frustration about school or parents, excitement with friends or developing intimacy with a partner — teens often do it through electronic communication. Teens often feel “safer” when they are alone and do not have to be face to face with the person with whom they are communicating.

Electronic communications depersonalize these experiences for today’s youth, just as the telephone did for previous generations.

This new technology allows kids to explore their sexuality without physical contact, but they fail to recognize the risks involved.

Experts on adolescent development suggest that teens have always found ways to explore their sexual identity and express themselves sexually — sexting is merely the newest form, using the latest technology. At the same time, we’ve all heard the widely publicized and sometimes tragic stories of private photos becoming public.

In these instances, instead of utilizing existing harassment laws to prosecute the person who intended to do harm, the bill would seek to also prosecute the victim, potentially resulting in less reported instances of true harassment or abuse.

The U.S. Supreme Court has recognized that the First Amendment protects images of nude minors as free expression where there is no exploitation or abuse of the minors involved. When teens engage in sexting, they are willingly sharing photos of themselves and there is no abuse — thus, the child pornography standard constitutionally does not apply.

The existing child pornography laws are meant to safeguard kids from abuse — yet HB 2189 would harm the youth it aims to protect.

As adults, we understand that sexting can have unintended consequences and potentially damage a young person’s life. However, research on adolescent development shows that youth often do not consider long-term consequences of actions and are not deterred by the threat of potential future prosecution.

Proponents suggest they want to help youth avoid felony prosecutions under existing child pornography laws, but HB 2189 does not prevent prosecutors from charging children with child pornography. Instead, it exposes kids to an additional crime, thereby widening the net and potentially bringing thousands more kids into the juvenile justice system, risking permanent criminal records, removal from their homes and disrupted educations.

Rather than taking such harsh measures to criminalize sexting, the General Assembly should take steps toward educating teens about the negative consequences of sending their personal images via text message and the Internet.

Other states have required educational programming in schools or through cell phone carriers to curb the harmful effects of sexting. These methods seek to protect teens by preventing sexting, rather than punishing them for what is simply normal adolescent development playing out in a new and inappropriate forum.

Parents, legislators, taxpayers and voters need to stop HB 2189 before it does our children more harm than good.

MARSHA LEVICK is deputy director and chief counsel of the Juvenile Law Center.



ANDY HOOVER is legislative director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania.