Sexting now illegal for teens

WEST PALM BEACH, FLA - For many parents, the only way they see their kids is with cellphone in hand. As the popularity of texting has risen, so too has that of sexting.

"Their craziness and texting and whatnot...it's gone up another level now," said local teen Oscar Lopez.

The new law against sexting passed in June and is now in effect.

For first timers, a simple $60 dollar fine is the limit, but repeat offenders face misdemeanor, or even felony charges on a third strike.

"I don't know if it's going to be effective, because it's kind of hard to check every child's phone," said Hannah Sheldon, who agrees with the law in spirit, but worries about it's enforceability.

The new law eases punishments for teens who would otherwise be labeled as sex offenders under the previous law. Still, some teens view this as an infringement of their rights.

"It's probably a teenager's right to do what they want as long as they don't bring it out to cause problems in real life," said Austin Adams.

According to lawmakers, those real life problems do occur, making the law a necessity, and enforceable.

"I don't think a random officer is going to be like, 'let me see your phone.' I don't think it's going to work that way. But if you get in trouble for doing that with somebody else and they tell other people...I'm pretty sure the culprit will get fined," said Lopez.

However, there is one more option. "Maybe we should just take their phones away," said Lopez.