Ten boys arrested for child porn distribution connected to Snapchat

[Ohio Joe]

Ten teenage boys were arrested Thursday in Quebec in connection with their use of the app Snapchat, according to CTV Montreal. All of the boys are suspected of producing and distributing child pornography, thanks to photos obtained via Snapchat.

CTV reports that the boys allegedly lured seven girls into sending pornographic photos to them, using the fact that Snapchat messages self-destruct as bait. What the girls apparently did not know (or trusted would not happen) is that there are a slew of ways to preserve Snapchat messages. Would-be preservers use secondary devices, other apps, or fairly simple hacks to recover the photo files from the receiving phone’s flash storage.

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2013/11/ten-boys-arrested-for-child-porn-distribution-connected-to-snapchat/

No matter what anyone tells you... No matter how an app advertises itself... Once you put it out electronically, it's out there forever. Sheesh.

[Benton D Struckcheon]

1. That goes double...

…if someone like Facebook buys the thing.

[tblue37]

2. Good that theywere arrested. Maybe others will think twice instead of doing this next time. nt

[1000words]

3. Didn't the girls "produce" the images?

Furthermore, wasn't it "distribution" when they put those images out themselves?

[Ohio Joe]

4. Reallly? You are going to blame the victim?

Fuckin disgusting.

[1000words]

5. I'm parsing the law

In no way do I condone the behavior.

[Ohio Joe]

7. No. You are blaming the victim and it is a shitty thing to do

Read the article. The boys convinced the girls the photos would be temporary and then saved them and distributed them. What you are doing is as disgusting as what they did.

[1000words]

9. So ... I take it I won't be receiving a holiday card from you this year?

Some of us can objectively analyse a story without there being some nefarious scheme for you to "root out."
This issue is fairly new given the technology and these questions should be asked for further protection of all.

[Ohio Joe]

11. Objective... Your defense of what these boys did is fucked up

And yes... Trying to put any kind of blame on the girls is defending the boys... So very fucked up.

[1000words]

13. Happy Holidays!

[etherealtruth]

29. What exactly is the law that you are "parsing"?

(remembering the "child" in child pornography)

[1000words]

47. A just law is enforced consistently

I raised some questions with regards to the charges the boys are facing, which by the way, I support whole-heartedly. Technically, the girls likely broke the same law.

[NickB79]

27. You need to research the laws regarding child porn more carefully

It's harder to call the girls victims when they voluntarily posted selfies of themselves online/sexted to another kid. Sort of like calling Anthony Weiner a victim after all his selfies were put out there for the world to see.

And young girls HAVE been charged with child porn for distributing self pics: http://www.nbcnews.com/id/28679588/

The female students at Greensburg Salem High School in Greensburg, Pa., all 14- or 15-years-old, face charges of manufacturing, disseminating or possessing child pornography while the boys, who are 16 and 17, face charges of possession, according to WPXI-TV in Pittsburgh, which published the story on its Web site on Tuesday.

[seabeyond]

35. ya, he is really going to go there. each and every one of his posts, go there. consistently.

we have these supposed newbies that come right in where they left off. this would be one.

[Ohio Joe]

8. Read the article

You are also being as disgusting as the boys that did this. More MRA bullshit DU does not need.

[geek tragedy]

19. it was distributed to other boys WITHOUT THEIR CONSENT.

In your haste to excuse the virtual sexual violation of young girls, you kind of overlooked that part.

[NickB79]

32. Consent doesn't matter

If the girls had consented to their photos being distributed by the boys to every other boy in the school, it's STILL child porn that they voluntarily participated in creating.

Teenage girls HAVE been charged with creating child porn of themselves, so there is case law to back it up.

[geek tragedy]

37. girls have also been prosecuted for their own statutory rape

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014372923

the actions of victim-blaming prosecutors in isolated incidents don't establish the general legal consensus

[NickB79]

44. I was wrong regarding the law

And you were right (see post 42).

Apparently Canada's laws on this issue are far more sensible than those I was familiar with here in the US.

Sorry bout that

[geek tragedy]

45. peace nt

[Ohio Joe]

22. Are you really that cluesless?

Are you going to try pass bullshit like this off?

Did you miss the part where the boys distributed these pictures without the girls consent? Where they fooled the girls into believing the pictures would be gone in a few seconds... And did it with the intent of distributing them later? Are you just going to ignore that and then try and pass these acts off as something innocent?

Really?

MRA bullshit and victim blaming... So very fucked up.

[uppityperson]

25. And the stupid boys chose to not delete them but pass them on without the consent

of the stupid girls.

[geek tragedy]

28. Are you ignoring the part where the boys sent those pictures to other boys

without the girls permission because you're:

A) Dishonest
B) Semi-literate; or
C) A misogynist victim-blamer; or
D) A combination of the above.

[NickB79]

33. So, if theoretically the girls did give permission, it's not child porn?

[leftstreet]

23. It's about possession and distribution

If you want to charge the girls with something, those won't work

[geek tragedy]

12. Unbelievable--a jury voted 1-5 to keep this apologia for child porn.

Yuck.

[BainsBane]

20. I wish I could say I was surprised

[geek tragedy]

21. internet creepers are ubiquitous, unfortunately nt

[etherealtruth]

31. nothing surprises me any more

[seabeyond]

39. no. mra talking points, child porn, schoolgirls underpants sold to grown men are huge thumbs up. but

what what you say in opposing those views cause you will be hidden every time.

[geek tragedy]

10. What next, arguing that statutory rape victims should be prosecuted as

accomplices?

Oink oink oink.

[HijackedLabel]

14. Slut shaming is not very liberal. nt

[geek tragedy]

15. This isn't that, it's just good old fashioned victim-blaming.

Rape culture thrives, even at DU.

[haele]

16. Aren't tweenagers/teenagers desperate for approval or to be grown up?

Don't they do stupid things just to prove "you aren't the boss of meeee?" or because someone cute tells them "I love you and want to make you feel special, so would you do this for me?" - even after their parents have done their best to teach them to respect themselves, or that having a boyfriend or girlfriend isn't the most important thing in the world, and all the other warnings that go in one ear and out the other because their hormones are screaming at them and they don't know which way is up?

As for distribution of pornography - who initiated the distribution?

Distribution of Pornography follows intent - someone who gives a personal picture or image to a lover or friend with the understanding that the picture is to remain between them is not distributing pornography. Otherwise, a parent's "first bathtime for baby picture" sent to grandma can be distributing child pornography.
If the image is no longer a personal transfer and someone broadcasts the image with the intent to benefit from the broadcast, then that's distribution of pornography.

The girls did not initate, they did not consent, nor did they benefit.

Haele

[In_The_Wind]

18. You are unbelievable!

How would you feel if one of those girls was your daughter?

[BainsBane]

26. The most basic elements of the law escape you.

[cali]

34. Are Canadian laws the same as U.S. laws?

[uppityperson]

36. They did not give permission to distribute, the boys distributed without their consent

Can you see the difference between consent and non-consent?

[NickB79]

40. So, if they did give permission, this wouldn't be child porn?

[Vashta Nerada]

41. I suppose you'd be the type to blame rape victims because they dressed a certain way.

[NickB79]

42. Apparently Canada has some very sane laws

In a few posts in this thread, I asked what consent had to do with this case; I didn't think it had any bearing because a sexual naked pic of a kid is a sexualy naked pic of a kid, case closed.

Apparently, consent DOES make a big difference in Canada: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/the-fine-line-between-sexting-and-child-pornography-1.1367613

In Canada, a 2001 ruling by the Supreme Court established what's known as the intimate photo exception.

Writing for majority, Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin, stated that if the photo or video was taken by one of the people involved, and if it was consensual and kept private, then the image is not considered child pornography.

The images in question would show teenagers under 18 years old but over the age of consent, which ranges from 12 to 16, depending on their partner's age.

So cases in Canada usually involve the non-consensual and/or malicious distribution of these kinds of images.

So mea culpa, I didn't do my homework on this case as I didn't know such a ruling existed.

[1000words]

49. Thanks, Nick.

Thank you for actually addressing the issue, and helping me to gain a better understanding.

[rrneck]

48. I'm no attorney

but even if they "produced" the images since they were under age that aspect of the law probably doesn't apply to them.

[CFLDem]

38. It must be terrifying to raise kids nowadays.

[Art_from_Ark]

50. If I were raising kids in the US nowadays,

I would, indeed, be terrified.

[NuclearDem]

43. A bunch of predators arrested for being predators.

Good riddance.

[calendargirl]

46. This won't be the last we hear of criminal activity on Snapchat.

That app seems like it was designed to share child and teenage porn. Instantly deleted (my butt.) I won't let my children near it.