Pawnee city parents final

DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP Bobby Truhe Harding & Shultz (402) 434-3000 btruhe@hslegalfirm.com H & S School Law @btruhe

What’s on the agenda?  Cyberbullying  Sexting  Tips on DC Safety

Social Media

Game Platforms

Social Media is Here to Stay And your kids are using it:  More YouTube content in 60 days than the first 60 years of “Big 3” networks  95% of all teens are “online”  70% of 12-13 year olds have cell phone  85% of all teens have cell phones  81% of teens are on social media  91% of teen users take/send/rec. photos  Daily teen texting up 200%

Cyberbullying?

Cyberbullying, v: the use of technology such as computers and cell phones to engage in repeated, and hostile behavior by an individual or group, that is intended to harm others.

How Common is Cyberbullying?  95% of teen internet users witness cyberbullying on social media  66% of teens see others “joining in”  21% of teens admit to piling on  33% of teens have been a victim (59% are girls)  5% of teens try to help  7% of parents are “concerned”…

Cyberbullying Nebraska’s own example of cyberbullying on iChat

Divagirl: Hey, loser, watch your back. tmt323: What r u talking about?

Divagirl: Why don't you kill yourself while u r ahead? tmt323: Why can't you just leave me alone?

Divagirl: Ugly girls like u need to be put in their place.

Other Examples  Seattle, WA “Friends”: Students who “liked” Facebook page bullying a classmate were all suspended, and a judge upheld all the suspensions  Memphis, TN “Oddsmaker”: Honors student suspended for 180 days for commenting on a friend’s status

School-Related Consequences  NEB. REV. STAT. 79-2,137  Definition: “ongoing pattern of physical, verbal or electronic abuse”  Consequences: • • • • • •

Loss of extracurricular privileges Detentions Loss of recess Suspension Expulsion Alternative School Assignment

Civil Consequences  Student and parents getting sued • Homeowners insurance might pay • Money judgments • Home/car foreclosure • Injunctions and restraining orders against kids  Esquival lawsuit in Texas  Sedwick suicide and lawsuit  Medley lawsuit in Texas

Fulmer v. Swidler (Pa. 2003)  Middle school student created website:“Teacher Sux” • • •

Compared math teacher to Hitler Had picture of her decapitated Asked for contributions toward hit man  Teacher sued  Jury awarded $500,000  Similar suit by principal settled

Mihnovich v. Williamson Co.  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

Boston v. Doe (Ga. 2012)  “Fatbook” Profile  12 year-old girls

Boston v. Doe (Ga. 2012)  “Fatbook” Profile • Languages • Hobbies • Fake stories • YouTube Videos  School couldn’t punish  Sued creators (her classmates)  Settled out of court

Criminal Consequences  NEB. REV. STAT. 28-311.01:  Terroristic Threats: “threatens to commit any crime of violence …”

• With the intent to terrorize another • In reckless disregard of the risk of causing such terror  Class IV Felony punishable by 5 years in prison and/or $10,000 fine  “Rebecca’s Laws” across U.S.

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

FaceTime

Sleepover Drama  4 11-year-old girls at slumber party  1 girl who was not invited  FaceTime conversation, text messages, social media use  Girl posted picture of a gun: “I’m going to kill the 4th slowly so she can watch the others die”  Cyberbullying added to D.A.R.E.

Ask.fm

Polk County, Fla. case  Student bullied on ask.fm and Kik Messenger • “Why aren't you dead?”

• “You should die.”

• “Wait a minute, why are you still alive?”

• “Go kill yourself.”  “Yes ik I bullied REBECCA nd she killed her self but IDGAF”

Yik Yak

Yik Yak  Anonymous Twitter/Facebook  Users can post messages visible to users within 5-10 miles

Yik Yak Cases  Massachusetts and New York: • School evacuated after bomb threats • Student posted about “ammo”

 Alabama:

• Student arrested after cops traced bomb threat to his phone in the school

 Illinois and Georgia:

• Cyberbullying of classmates and multiple threats of suicide

Rumor/Confession Accounts

Rumor/Confession Accounts  Anonymous Twitter/Facebook pages  Allow others to submit private messages to the owner of the rumor account  Messages are posted “anonymously” for anyone to read  Some mention specific people, others are general  Built-in layer of protection for users

Sexting

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

How Common is Sexting?  Teens who sext photos are 4-7x more likely to “hook up”  Teens that sext: 77% have sex  Teens that don’t: 42% have sex

How Common is Sexting?

June 2014 survey by Drexel University 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0

all teens 12-14 y/o

Kids say the darndest things  “Shrek is love, Shrek is life” 8

Oral Sex

143

I Love You

cu46

See You For Sex

GNOC

Get Naked On Cam

S2R

Send To Receive

NIFOC

Naked In Front Of Computer

RU18

Are You 18?

CD9 / Code 9

Parent / Adult around

Kik Messenger

Kik Messenger  Incident at local Catholic grade school • Pedophile sent cryptic image, porn appeared after accepting friend req.

• Set up a meeting place with student • Parent luckily intercepted the student

 “Catfish” from Texas

State v. Gallegos • 16-year-old girl met 17-year-old guy on Kik • Talked, became friends • Asked her for pictures • She said OK • Then said he’d share those photos with her classmates unless she met him

Snapchat

Snapchat

Snapchat

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, registered sex offenders, appealing sentences  THIS JUST HAPPENED IN NE

Wisconsin v. Stancl  High school student posed as a girl, tricked male classmates into sending nude photos  Then blackmailed boys into sex acts • Thirty-one victims • Then took photos of the physical encounters

Pending Michigan Case     

30 students maybe charged Boys blackmailing female classmates Boys traded pictures Police are doing forensic testing Soliciting, Creation, Distributing, and Possessing charges possible  All under 16, but may be charged as adults

Florida v. Alpert  Girlfriend sent pics  He forwarded pic to all contacts  Convicted of distribution of child pornography  On sex offender registry until he’s 43

Serious Consequences: Hope Witsell and Jessica Logan

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

Nebraska Law  Affirmative Defense: •

the picture is only of the defendant; or

• • • • • • •

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

Survey of County Attorneys 90 80 70 60 50 County Attys NE Co. Attys

40 30 20 10 0 Charged minor

Charged adult

Allowed diversion

Plea agreement

Meanwhile, in Alabama “An odd day arises when a young man, who could legally have consensual sex with his sixteen-year-old girlfriend, will forever be labeled a sex offender for receiving provocative pictures of her that she sent him via text message. Such is the day of modern technology; a day when we not only combat the despicable perversion of child pornography, but also must account for the rampant proliferation of "sexting“ . . . This court, and other district courts across the nation, bear the burden of taking into account these realities of this age of technology, while still imposing a sentence that is ‘sufficient, but not greater than necessary . . .

-U.S. v. Nash

So, now what?

Limit electronics?  Common Suggestions • Don’t charge the phone or tablet in the bedroom • Place computers in public parts of the house • Technology Timeouts: Limit texting during meals, homework time, etc.

 Alternative: track “connected” time and compare to “unconnected” time

If things may be bad already:  Talk to other affected parents, but don’t be accusatory  #1 Complaint from Administrators across the country: “Parents won’t do their own dirty work.”  School admins must call the cops/HHS

So, what can you do?

McAfee: “Unfortunately, technological advancements that solve problems sometimes seem to create new ones as a result.”

Norton: “Teach your children to be thoughtful… Children should be empowered by technology, not made victims of it.”

Taking back the conversation  Apps like SnapChat, Instagram, Kik, and ask.fm lead to hiding communication  Kids use these apps because they are a parentless universe  DC is more than monitoring—its about shaping values/lessons to life online  Talk to them: your kids want to talk!  > 50% of kids are “open to talking”

If things may be bad already:  mSpy • Snapchat: “this is the nuclear option”

 K9 Web Protection (home use is free)  App locking and mirroring  Block download capabilities  Internet/Device/Service provider tools  Turn off “incognito windows”

DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP Bobby Truhe Harding & Shultz (402) 434-3000 btruhe@hslegalfirm.com H & S School Law @btruhe