By: Jessica King
The internet, something everchanging in its utilization, but as well known, the law does not function well in a state of constant flux. A frequent topic inducing questions is the regulation of social media when pertaining to communications, especially with the increased usage of different apps, such as Snapchat. Sextortion, a crime that happens when an adult convinces a minor to show sexual pictures or perform sexual acts, can begin on any site where those can meet and communicate.[1] The COVID pandemic inflated this issue, agencies reporting record numbers of tips regarding online exploitation and pornography stemming from these social media platforms.[2] Currently, the only answer to how to prevent this seems to rest on the parents, spouting the necessity for them to instill the same basic tips as when they were children, emphasizing talking to them about the need for privacy settings and keeping a check on their devices to know who they are talking to.[3] However, besides the parents, there’s little legal protection for the privacy of teens online.
As many of us know, the “magic” age when it comes to the allowance of social media is 13; this is due to the passage of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), which provides protection to the privacy interests of children.[4] COPPA is imposed by the Federal Trade Commission, imposing requirements on websites in connection with the collection and use of personal information from children.[5] The law, not focused on the privacy aspect, but rooted in the consent element of contractual agreements, requires that the websites have actual knowledge when collecting information from minors under 13 years of age.[6] However, it currently only applies to children under the age of 13.[7] This leaves minors from between the ages of 13 and 17 on the internet with little legal protection during online communication.[8]
Cases involving minors and social media are occurring internationally, but one occurred right here in the Eastern District of Virginia. On Friday, February 11, 2022, Troy Skinner was sentenced to 21 years for one count of child pornography, produced during an online relationship with a 13-year-old girl.[9] Indicted in 2019, Skinner used the online relationship to create child pornography, then going so far to travel from his home in New Zealand to Virginia, kidnapping the minor in question.[10] Skinner’s lawyers presented that he believed the victim to be 16 and unaware that the 49 videos taken of the minor naked were illegal, which was quickly dismissed, that they are child pornography as soon as they are taken, regardless of belief.[11] The relationship occurred over the app Discord, where Skinner saved videos of sexual content without her knowledge.[12]
Cases like that of Skinner, are unfortunately all too common. The number of sexual assault cases related to social media sites has increased by 300% and 33% of all internet-initiated sex crimes involved social networking sites.[13] These statistics pose a concerning standpoint, that the social media so widely used has a potentially devastating effect on the teens who use it. Although usually not physically dangerous, as Skinner became, they have severe impacts on the emotional well-being, including fear of losing access to technology.[14] Due to fear of getting in trouble, sextortion is much harder for the victims to come forward. [15] Something as impactful on the privacy and lives of the teens of our society should not just be left to a “stranger danger” discussion by parents, but a legal protection to their safety on the internet.
[1] Stop Sextortion, FBI (Sept. 3, 2019), https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/stop-sextortion-youth-face-risk-online-090319.
[2] Jonah Kaplan, Pandemic, social media lead to major surge in reports of online child exploitation, ABC 11 (Nov. 3, 2021), https://abc11.com/online-exploitation-pornography-computer-crimes-sexually-explicit-photos/11194849/.
[3] Id.
[4]Caitlin R. Costello, Dale E. McNiel & Renee L. Binder, Adolescents and Social Media: Privacy, Brain Development and the Law, J. Am. Academy Psych. & L. Online, (Sept. 2016), http://jaapl.org/content/44/3/313#:~:text=The%20Children’s%20Online%20Privacy%20Protection%20Act%20(COPPA)%20has%20provided%20protection,the%20hazards%20of%20communicating%20online.
[5] Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998, 15 U.S.C. §§6501–6505 (2022).
[6] Id.
[7]Caitlin R. Costello, Dale E. McNiel & Renee L. Binder, Adolescents and Social Media: Privacy, Brain Development and the Law, J. Am. Academy Psych. & L. Online, (Sept. 2016), http://jaapl.org/content/44/3/313#:~:text=The%20Children’s%20Online%20Privacy%20Protection%20Act%20(COPPA)%20has%20provided%20protection,the%20hazards%20of%20communicating%20online.
[8]Id.
[9] Bree Sison, New Zealand man sentenced for traveling to meet underage Goochland girl, WTVR (Feb. 11, 2022), https://www.wtvr.com/news/local-news/troy-skinner-sentenced-for-traveling-to-meet-underage-goochland-girl.
[10] New Zealand Man Indicted for Kidnapping and Child Pornography, U.S. Dep’t Just. (Feb. 6, 2019), https://www.justice.gov/usao-edva/pr/new-zealand-man-indicted-kidnapping-and-child-pornography.
[11] Bree Sison, New Zealand man sentenced for traveling to meet underage Goochland girl, WTVR (Feb. 11, 2022), https://www.wtvr.com/news/local-news/troy-skinner-sentenced-for-traveling-to-meet-underage-goochland-girl.
[12] David Fisher, Troy Skinner Case: How an online infatuation with a US teen led to prison, NZ Herald (July 31, 2021), https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/big-read-troy-skinners-rapid-decline-into-a-relationship-with-a-teenager-that-will-send-him-to-prison-for-years/5N6SRX4V2XFY3TGVQYKMR4KMMU/.
[13] Social Media Statistics, Guard Child, https://www.guardchild.com/social-media-statistics-2/ (last visited Feb. 16, 2022).
[14] Stop Sextortion, FBI (Sept. 3, 2019), https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/stop-sextortion-youth-face-risk-online-090319.
[15] Id.