1. D IGITAL C ITIZENSHIP Bobby Truhe KSB School Law (402) 804-8000 bobby@ksbschoollaw.com KSB School Law @btruhe

2. What’s on the agenda?  Cyberbullying School, civil, and criminal consequences  Sexting Sextortion and criminal consequences

3. Social Media Trends  Trends away from Facebook and sites where parents are present “Yeah, that’s why we go on Twitter and Instagram instead of Facebook. My mom doesn’t have that.” “I have two [Facebook] accounts. One for my family, one for my friends.”  Trends toward anonymous “Yeah, some of the people that follow me on Instagram that I don’t know, they’re just really nice to me, and they always say nice things.” http://www.pewinternet.org/2013/05/21/part-1-teens-and-social-media-use/

4. Social Media

5. Game Platforms

6. 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.

7. 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”…

8. Recent Examples  Don’t “Like” It: Students who “liked” Facebook page bullying a classmate were all suspended, and a judge upheld all the suspensions  “Take Down” Accounts: JH students who created an Instagram account asking, “Who should we take down next?” Took turns running the account  “Ghost” Accounts: HS students created multiple fake accounts one at a time to continue bullying a student for 2+ years; alternated the accounts to avoid detection from school and parents

9. School Consequences  N EB. R EV. S TAT. 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

10. Civil Consequences  Students v. Students/Parents Lawsuits Money judgments Home/car foreclosure Injunctions and restraining orders  Esquivel suicide and lawsuit in Texas “I foresee the lawsuit being used as a mechanism and vehicle to stop the conduct.”

11. Boston v. Doe (Ga. 2014)  “Fatbook” Profile  “Fat Face” App  12 year-olds

13. Boston v. Doe (Ga. 2014)  “Fatbook” Profile Languages Hobbies YouTube Videos  Sued her classmates  Court: “A jury could find that the parents’ negligence…caused some part of the injury….”

14. Cooks v. Tulsa Sch. Dist., et al  Student changing after basketball game  Teammates held down, took picture of her and posted to Twitter  Student reported to administrators  Other team members bullied her  “That B better not mess up my s’ship”  Family suing School district Students who took/tweeted pic Parents

15. Audrie Pott v. John Does  Committed suicide after 3 boys took pictures of sexual acts with her  3 boys served 30-45 days in jail for felonies  Family suing the 3 boys and their parents for “wrongful death”  Boys swapped pictures and bullied victim  Several people have already settled: House owners: $100,000 Girl who “covered it up”: $150,000 Mother of one boy: $25,000

16. Criminal Consequences  N EB. R EV. S TAT. 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 p unishable by 5 years in prison and/or $10,000 fine  “Rebecca’s Laws” across U.S.— considered in Nebraska last session

17. Judges’ Responses “I was just kidding.”  That defendant intended his actions to constitute a joke is no bar to criminal guilt. He is guilty regardless of his allegedly joking intent. “It was a private message.”  It does not matter whether your settings are ‘private’ because if you put it on the internet, you have no expectation of privacy.

18. Yik Yak

19. Yik Yak Cases  Bullying by initials: “CS is a slut”  Bomb Threats  Shooting Threats  Trends toward law enforcement and teachers getting on Yik Yak  Parents: get on Yik Yak!

20. Ask.fm

21. Polk County, Florida  Rebecca Sedwik 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.” “Drink bleach and die”  “Yes ik I bullied REBECCA nd she killed her self but IDGAF”

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

23. Sexting: the facts  40% of teens will sext by 18  50% of teens have seen sexts  70% of sexting is to BF/GF  95% of teens know it can have “serious consequences”  Numerous websites where kids can find anonymous sexting partners

24. Kids say the darndest things 8Oral Sex 143I Love You cu46See You For Sex GNOCGet Naked On Cam S2RSend To Receive NIFOC Naked In Front Of Computer RU18Are You 18? CD9 / Code 9Parent / Adult around

25. Sextortion

26. Kik Messenger  Middle School “Creeper” Pedophile sent porn images after kids accepted friend requests Set up a meeting place with student Parent intercepted the student  “Catfish” Accounts Set up fake Kik, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram accounts Texas incident

27. State v. Gallegos  16-year-old girl met “17 yom” on Kik  Talked, became friends  Asked her for pictures  She said OK  Then said he’d share photos with her classmates unless she agreed to meet him

28. Wisconsin v. Stancl  High school male posed as a girl, tricked male classmates into sending nude photos  Blackmailed boys into sex acts Thirty-one victims Took photos of the encounters  Continued to blackmail victims for 10 years

29. Snapchat

32. 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, sentences upheld

34. Pending Cases  Michigan 14-15 y.o. boys blackmailing classmates Police are doing forensic testing All under 16, may be charged w/ felonies  Ohio 16-17 y.o. students charged with 3 rd degree felonies May “settle” for 5 th degree felonies Probation includes restitution and “rehabilitative detention”

35. Pending Cases  New Jersey Police seized 30 cell phones, students possibly selling images and videos 20 7-12 th grade students charged with sexting and “invasion of privacy” NJ law says 2 years in juvenile detention for minors

36. Pending Cases  Pennsylvania “I just saw you naked” Investigation revealed Dropbox digital storage account with 300+ photos Dozens of HS students Students would blackmail girls by putting up fake pictures PA Law: girls who took/sent pictures and boys who put them up could face Class III Felonies

37. Nebraska Law  N EB. R EV. S TAT. 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

38. 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

39. Survey of County Attorneys

40. Serious Consequences: Hope Witsell and Jessica Logan

41. So, now what?

42. Parents!  Talk with students about their use of SnapChat, Instagram, Kik, and ask.fm  Use these apps—students surveyed report using trendy apps because they are a parentless universe…use them!  Report suspected cyberbullying, sexting, and associated behavior

43. If things may be bad already:  mSpy ($70/mo or $199.99/yr) Snapchat: “this is the nuclear option”  WebWatcher ($99.95)  K9 Web Protection (free)  App locking, mirroring, syncing  Block download capabilities  Internet/Device/Service provider tools  Turn off “incognito windows”  Disable in-app browsers

44. Students!  Think before you post—people are watching and will read your “digital storybook”  Say “no” to pressure—most incidents of sexting occur as a result of pressure from a s/o or as a result of sextortion  Report suspected cyberbullying, sexting, and associated behavior

45. D IGITAL C ITIZENSHIP Bobby Truhe KSB School Law (402) 804-8000 bobby@ksbschoollaw.com KSB School Law @btruhe