united-states child-porn
are there any states where teenagers sending nudes to each other isn&#39;t a crime?
<p>For the recent surveys on law enforcement it appears that it is a crime in many states with many having explicit laws against it however are there any states where this isn't a crime and what about states that don't have an explicit law against it ?</p>

<p>Blaire Bayliss reviews the law in &quot;<a href="http://lawreview.colorado.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Bayliss-_-Final.pdf" rel="nofollow noreferrer">The Kids are Alright 😂🍆🍑: Teen Sexting, Child Pornography Charges, and the Criminalization of Adolescent Sexuality</a>&quot; (2020) Colorado L. Rev. 251. The article uses the term &quot;sexting&quot; to mean the exchange of sexually explicit messages or images between individuals using electronic messaging. When images, this can constitute child pornography under federal law.</p>
<p>Also (from <a href="https://cyberbullying.org/the-status-of-sexting-laws-across-the-united-states" rel="nofollow noreferrer">cyberbullying.org</a>),</p>
<blockquote>
<p>States that do not have a specific sexting law often rely on existing statutes when dealing with teen sexting. All states, for example, have child pornography or child exploitation laws that prohibit sending, receiving, or possessing images of a sexual nature of a minor.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Bayliss notes though that some <em>states</em> have adapted their child pornography laws to account for teen sexting:</p>
<p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/ko5JD.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/ko5JD.png" alt="enter image description here" /></a></p>
<p>For example, in Rhode Island, teens will not be charged under state criminal child pornography laws but may be &quot;tried&quot; in family court. And in Colorado, &quot;teens who are approximately the same age and who exchange sexual images with the understanding of consent have committed a civil infraction.&quot; See <a href="https://codes.findlaw.com/co/title-18-criminal-code/co-rev-st-sect-18-7-109.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Colo. Rev. Stat § 18-7-109(3)</a>.</p>
<p>Bayliss's article and map are from 2020, but <a href="https://cyberbullying.org/sexting-laws" rel="nofollow noreferrer">a 2022 dataset</a> by the Cyberbulling Research Center shows not much has changed. That dataset also provides links to state-specific sexting laws where they exist.</p>
<p>Note that no state law can exempt teens from the application of federal child pornography and related laws.</p>
<p>Of course, if the image does not even constitute pornography, then all of the above is irrelevant, but I understand you to be asking about the circumstance where the content is typically or historically criminalized.</p>
