Teens allegedly live-stream sex acts on Facebook
Technically Incorrect: In Milwaukee, police are attempting to secure data from Facebook after three teens allegedly filmed their hookup and broadcast it to classmates.
Technically Incorrect offers a slightly twisted take on the tech that's taken over our lives.
Teens allegedly used Facebook Live for an X-rated performance.
The social-media era has been one in which everyone has learned how to broadcast.
It's perhaps inevitable, then, that some may choose to broadcast things that might disturb others.
On Tuesday, a woman allegedly live-streamed her death on Periscope.
Now news has emerged of a pair of teenage girls in Milwaukee allegedly using Facebook Live to broadcast sexual acts between them and a teenage boy.
As CBS 58 in Milwaukee reported this week, students at Barack Obama School in Milwaukee -- where the two girls involved, one 14 and one 15, were also students -- allegedly watched as the acts were live-streamed.
The Milwaukee Police Department has reportedly issued a search warrant to obtain all possible information from one of the teens' Facebook accounts.
Neither the police department nor the schools district nor Facebook immediately replied to a request for comment.
However, the schools district gave CBS this statement: "In January, staff became aware of a video depicting inappropriate conduct that took place outside of school and off campus. The school immediately notified proper authorities and cooperated with the investigation. We took appropriate disciplinary action against those involved, which would be in addition to any outside consequences they may face."
A Facebook representative told Gizmodo that the company doesn't comment on specific cases, but that regarding Facebook Live in general, the company provides a way for viewers to report violations of its community standards during a live stream.
"We do understand and recognize that there are unique challenges when it comes to content and safety for Live videos," reads a statement provided to the publication by the spokesperson. "It's a serious responsibility, we work hard to strike the right balance between enabling expression while providing a safe and respectful experience."
The live-stream was reportedly not filmed on the premises of the K-12 school but was allegedly witnessed by four students during -- but of course -- a health class.
Only the two girls, not the 15-year-old boy, have reportedly been charged with exposing a child to harmful material.
Sexting has long been an issue for parents, as well as for schools.
Some authorities have turned to child pornography laws to try to prosecute those who take part. Things even reached the point where sexting between a teenage boyfriend and girlfriend became subject to severe legal stricture in Virginia.
It has always been true that kids have done dumb things. Technology simply makes it easier.
It also makes it more likely that dumb things committed may have more lasting consequences.