The vexing issue of 'sexting'.

• Position: TRENDS AND TRANSITIONS

Hundreds of news stories in the past few months have focused attention on teens who are "sexting"--sending nude or semi-nude photos to one another by cell phone. School officials and police have investigated dozens of incidents, and prosecutors in at least six states have considered whether kids who send these messages, sometimes by mutual consent, should be charged under child pornography laws.

One 18-year-old student in Florida was charged after he sent nude photos of his 16-year-old girlfriend, following a fight, to her friends and family. He was sentenced to five years' probation and is now a registered sex offender.

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Sexting isn't limited just to kids, however. Sexual predators are using cell phones to contact children, raising concerns about whether state laws are adequate. Oregon's online luring law did not cover text messaging, so prosecutors were unable to bring criminal charges against a teacher who sent illicit text messages to a student.

Lawmakers in at least nine states have introduced legislation this year aimed at deterring teens from sexting or preventing legal loopholes that would allow sexual predators to escape prosecution.

In Utah, lawmakers passed legislation that sets misdemeanor charges for children age 17 and under who distribute pornographic...