Cozad parents

A Parents’ Guide to Kids and Technology Karen Haase (402) 804-8000 (402) 499-0547 Karen@ksbschoollawcom KSB School Law @KarenHaase

Knowledge is Power

What’s the deal?  Cyberbullying  Sexting  Ignoring Internet Safety

Mihnovich v. Williamson Co. Bd. Of Ed., (Tenn. 2013)

 Student adopted from Ethiopia • Received mean and racist texts • Facebook page: “Hate Black **** N.M.! Who Else Does?”

• Received nude photograph of a female classmate

 Sued  School and 31 classmates  Seeking $1.1 million

Privacy Settings  PARENTS have user names and passwords  Set your profile (and your students’ profiles) as “private”  Only let “friends” see pics  Require notification before tagging  Turn off geo-tags  Friend Facebook on Facebook

Twitter

Cooks v. Tulsa Sch. Dist., et al  Student changing after volleyball  Teammates held down, took picture of her and posted to Twitter; others retweeted  Family suing • Twitter • School district • Student who took pic • Students who first tweeted the pic

Managing Twitter

Managing Twitter

My Suggestions  PARENTS have user names and passwords  A better option for younger kids  Consider a locked feed  Follow your kids (with text notifications)

Skype

Skype  On-line phone conversations with optional video conferencing  Free  Great educational and family platform

Skype

Instagram  Social media and photo sharing.  Users can take photos, record videos, add text and drawings, and send them to a controlled list of recipients.  Default setting is fully public; also asks to integrate with Facebook and contacts

Instagram – the negative

Snapchat

Snapchat  Photo messaging application.  Users can take photos, record videos, add text and drawings, and send them to a controlled list of recipients.  Users set a time limit for how long recipients can view their photos, up to 10 seconds, after which it will be deleted from the recipients device and the company's servers.

Managing Snapchat  Very few tools  Close supervision  Not as private as users think

Snapchat

Sexting?

Sexting, v: (a combination of sex and texting) is the act of sending sexually explicit messages or photos electronically, primarily between cell phones.

In re Juvenile John Does (Fairfax Co. Va 2013)

 Girls Snapchatted video to boy  He forwarded screenshots to friends  Three boys arrested at school  Each charged with 12 counts of distribution of child pornography  Found guilty, appealing sentences

Nebraska Law  Neb. Rev. Stat. 28-813 et. seq.  Makes sexting (images) a class IV felony for offenders under 19  Class IIIA felony for 19 and up  Both punishable by: • • •

Up to 5 years in prison and/or $10,000 fine Require sex offender registration

Criminal Implications  Affirmative Defense: •

the picture is only of the defendant;

• • • • • •

defendant was younger than 19 picture is of someone at least 15 picture was taken voluntarily picture was given voluntarily picture contains only one child defendant hasn’t shared the picture; AND defendant didn’t coerce taking or sending

•

or

Yik Yak

Kik Messenger

Kik Messenger  App that blends texting with lots of cool social networking features  The app itself is slick  Secretive -- not overrun with parents.  No character limits, free and quick  Messages not counted against SMS  Tells users when message has been sent, delivered, and read  Fun array of related apps

Managing Kik Messenger  The app itself specifies that users should be over the age of 17  No parental controls few privacy settings  Heavily associated with sexual predators, sextortion, and cyberbullying.  No follow-up options for users who experience problems  Integration with Instagram: “Kik me @ (Kik username)”

Managing Kik Messenger  A privacy “bad guy”  One of the few apps I have forbidden my kids to use  Free texting is appealing to parents but at what other cost?

Vine

Vine  Video sharing service similar to Twitter  All videos on 6 second loop  No privacy settings – ALL profiles are public  LOTS of inappropriate content  Also used for cyberbullying and sexting

Game Platforms

Nothing is truly anonymous

A Parents’ Guide to Kids and Technology Karen Haase (402) 804-8000 (402) 499-0547 Karen@ksbschoollaw.com KSB School Law @KarenHaase