WEBVTT 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 People have been using media to talk about sex for a long time. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Love letters, phone sex, racy polaroids. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 There's even a story of a girl who eloped with a man that she met over the telegraph in 1886. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Today we have sexting 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 and I am a sexting expert. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Not an expert sexter-- 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 (Laughter) 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Though, I do know what this means 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 and I think you do too! 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 (Laughter) 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 I have been studying sexting since the media attention to it began in 2008. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 I wrote a book on the moral panic about sexting, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 and here's what I found: 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Most people are worrying about the wrong thing. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 They're trying to just prevent sexting from happening entirely, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 but let me ask you this: 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 as long as it is completely consensual, what's the problem with sexting? 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 People are into all sorts of things that you may not be into, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 like blue cheese or cilantro. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 (Laughter) 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Sexting is certainly risky, like anything that's fun, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 but as long as you're not sending any image to someone who doesn't want to receive it, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 there's no harm. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 What I do think is a serious problem is when people share private images of others without their permission, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 and instead of worrying about sexting, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 what I think we need to do is think a lot more about digital privacy. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 The key is consent. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Right now people are thinking about sexting without really thinking about consent at all. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Did you know that we currently criminalize teen sexting? 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 It can be a crime because it counts as child pornography 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 if there's an image of someone under eighteen, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 and it doesn't even matter if they took that image of themselves 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 and shared it willingly. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 So we end up with this bizarre legal situation 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 where two 17-year-olds can have sex in most U.S. states, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 but they can't photograph it. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Some states have also tried passing sexting misdemeanor laws, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 but these laws repeat the same problem 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 because they still make consensual sexting illegal. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 It doesn't make sense to try to ban all sexting to try to address privacy violations. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 This is kind of like saying, "let's solve the problem of date rape by just making dating completely illegal." 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Most teens don't get arrested for sexting, but can you guess who does? 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 It's often teens who are disliked by their partners parents, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 and this can be because of class bias, racism, or homophobia. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Most prosecutors are, of course, smart enough not to use child pornography charges against teenagers, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 but some do. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 According to researchers at the University of New Hampshire, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 seven percent of all child pornography possession arrests are teen sexting consensually with other teens. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Child pornography is a serious crime 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 but it's just not the same thing as teen sexting. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Parents and educators are also responding to sexting 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 without really thinking too much about consent. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Their message to teens is often just don't do it, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 and I totally get it. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 There are serious legal risks and of course that potential for privacy violations. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 And when you were a teen, I'm sure you did exactly as you were told, right? 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 You're probably thinking, "My kid would never sext," 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 and that's true; your little angel may not be sexting 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 because only 33 percent of 16 and 17-year-olds are sexting. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 But, sorry, by the time they're older 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 the odds are that they will be sexting. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Every study I've seen puts the rate above 50 percent for 18 to 24-year-olds. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 And most of the time, nothing goes wrong. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 People asking me all the time things like, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 "isn't sexting just so dangerous, though? 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 You wouldn't leave your wallet on a park bench. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 You expect it's going to get stolen if you do that, right?" 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Here's how I think about it: 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Sexting is like leaving your wallet at your boyfriend's house. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 If you come back the next day and all the money is just gone, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 you really need to dump that guy. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 (Laughter) 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 So instead of criminalizing sexting to try to prevent these privacy violations, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 instead we need to make consent central to how we think about that circulation of our private information. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Every new media technology raises privacy concerns; 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 in fact, in the U.S. the major first major debates about privacy 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 were in response to technologies that were relatively new at the time. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 In the late 1800s, people were worried about cameras, which were just suddenly more portable than ever before, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 and newspaper gossip columns. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 They were worried that the camera would capture information about them, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 take it out of context, and widely disseminate it. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Does that sound familiar? 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 It's exactly what we're worrying about now with social media, drone cameras, and of course, sexting. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 And these fears about technology, they make sense 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 because technologies can amplify and bring out our worst qualities and behaviors. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 But there are solutions and we've been here before with a dangerous new technology. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 In 1908, Ford introduced the Model T car. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Traffic fatality rates were rising; it was a serious problem. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 It looks so safe, right? 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 (Laughter) 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Our first response was to try to change drivers' behavior, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 so we developed speed limits and enforced them through fines. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 But over the following decades we started to realize 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 that the technology of the car itself is not just neutral. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 We could design the car to make it safer. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 So in the 1920s we got shatter-resistant windshields, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 in the 1950s, seat belts, and in the 1990s, air bags. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 All three of these areas, laws, individuals, and industry, came together over time to help solve the problems that a new technology causes 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 and we can do the same thing with digital privacy. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Of course, it comes back to consent. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Here's the idea: 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 before anyone can distribute your private information, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 they should have to get your permission. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 This idea of affirmative consent comes from anti-rape activists 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 who tell us that we need consent for every sexual act. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 And we have really high levels of consent in other areas. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Think about having surgery. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Your doctor has to make sure that you are meaningfully and knowingly consenting to that medical procedure. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 This is not the type of consent with like an iTunes terms of service 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 where you just scroll to the bottom and you're like agree, agree, whatever. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 (Laughter) 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 If we think more about consent, we can have better privacy laws. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Right now we just don't have that many protections. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 If your ex-husband or your ex-wife is a terrible person, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 they can take your nude photos and upload them to a porn site. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 It can be really hard to get those images taken down 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 and in a lot of states, you're actually better off if you took the images of yourself 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 because then you can file a copyright claim. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 (Laughter) 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Right now if someone violates your privacy, whether that's an individual or a company or the NSA, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 you can try filing a lawsuit, but you may not be successful 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 because many courts assume that digital privacy is just impossible 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 so they're not willing to punish anyone for violating it. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 I still hear people asking me all the time, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 "isn't a digital image somehow blurring the line between public and private because it's digital, right?" 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 No, no! 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Everything digital is not just automatically public. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 That doesn't make any sense. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 As NYU legal scholar, Helen Nissenbaum, tells us, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 we have laws and policies and norms that protect all kinds of information that's private, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 and it doesn't make a difference if it's digital or not. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 All of your health records are digitized 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 but your doctor can't just share them with anyone. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 All of your financial information is held in digital databases 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 but your credit card company can't just post your purchase history online. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Better laws could help address privacy violations after they happen, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 but one of the easiest things we can all do is make personal changes to help protect each others' privacy. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 We're always told that privacy is our own sole, individual responsibility. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 We're told, "Constantly monitor and update your privacy settings." 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 We're told, "Never share anything you wouldn't want the entire world to see." 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 This doesn't make sense. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Digital media are social environments 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 and we share things with people we trust all day, every day. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 As Princeton researcher, Janet Vertesi, argues, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 our data and our privacy, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 they're not just personal, they're interpersonal. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 So one thing you can do that's really easy is just start asking for permission before you share anyone else's information. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 If you want to post a photo of someone online, ask for permission. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 If you want to forward an email thread, ask for permission. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 If you want to share someone's nude selfie, obviously, ask for permission! 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 These individual changes can really help us protect each others' privacy, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 but we need technology companies on board as well. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 These companies have very little incentive to help our privacy 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 because their business models depend on us sharing everything with as many people as possible. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Right now, if I send you an image, you can forward that to anyone that you want. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 But what if I got to decide if that image was forwardable or not? 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 This would tell you, "You don't have my permission to send this image out." 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 We do this kind of thing all the time to protect copyright. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 If you buy an ebook, you can't just send it out to as many people as you want, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 so why not try this with mobile phones? 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 What you can do is we can demand that tech companies add these protections to our devices and our platforms as the default. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 After all, you can choose the color of your car, but the airbags are always standard. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 If we don't think more about digital privacy and consent, there can be serious consequences. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 There was a teenager from Ohio. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Let's call her Jennifer for the sake of her privacy. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 She shared nude photos of herself with her high school boyfriend thinking she could trust him. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Unfortunately, he betrayed her and sent her photos around the entire school. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Jennifer was embarrassed and humiliated, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 but instead of being compassionate, her classmates harassed her. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 They called her a slut and a whore and they made her life miserable. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Jennifer started missing school, and her grades dropped. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Ultimately, Jennifer decided to end her own life. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Jennifer did nothing wrong. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 All she did was share a nude photo with someone that she thought that she could trust. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 And yet, our laws tell her that she committed a horrible crime equivalent to child pornography. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Our gender norms tell her that by producing this nude image of herself, she somehow did the most horrible, shameful thing. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 And when we assume that privacy is impossible in digital media, we completely write off and excuse her boyfriend's bad, bad behavior. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 People are still saying all the time to victims of privacy violations, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 "What were you thinking? 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 You should've never sent that image." 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 If you're trying to figure out what to say instead, try this: 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 imagine you've run into your friend who broke their leg skiing. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 They took a risk to do something fun, and it didn't end well. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 But you're probably not going to be the jerk who says, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 "Well, I guess you shouldn't have gone skiing then!" 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 If we think more about consent, we can see that victims of privacy violations deserve our compassion, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 not criminalization, shaming, harassment, or punishment. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 We can support victims, and we can prevent some privacy violations 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 by making these legal, individual, and technological changes. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Because the problem is not sexting, the issue is digital privacy 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 and one solution is consent. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 So the next time a victim of a privacy violation comes up to you, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 instead of blaming them, let's do this instead: 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 let's shift our ideas about digital privacy and let's respond with compassion. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Thank you. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 (Applause)