Obviously, this illustrates the danger of child pornography laws (and sex offender registries) in the first place -- of course they're not used to empower children, but to prosecute them! And to legislate some backward vision of morality.

A commenter on the original post says it best: "We have to prosecute the children to protect the children... Think of the children!!"

The photos in this particular case sound slightly less lascivious than a Victoria's Secret ad, and certainly more tame than your average American Apparel faux-child porn. But one thing the article (and the ACLU) seem to be neglecting is that of course kids should have the right to send out photos of themselves -- partially clothed, nude, or dressed up and fucking -- to their friends, right? While the school administrators mention potential bullying and targeting in schools, the problem isn't the photos -- it's the way sex is stigmatized and criminalized.

Oh, will he ever live in a culture where teenagers are seen as independent sexual beings?

(Thanks to Bill Dobbs for forwarding the Wired post)

Mattilda also blogs at nobodypasses.blogspot.com.