The ubiquitous presence of phones and computers in children’s lives has created new social questions for parents, schools, and lawmakers.

One detective in Illinois found that 60% of “sextortion” online comes from peers, not strangers. The other 40%? It comes from internet gaming.

As if that wasn’t terrifying enough, state and national legislation have struggled to keep up with this unusual legal territory.

Initially, states used standard child pornography laws to charge sexting cases. However, the felony penalties often felt [...]