Please, sign the petition NOW which will be directed to Conde Nast CEO Roger Lynch, other Conde Nast senior executives, and TeenVogue.com editors.
Enough Is Enough® (EIE), a national organization fighting to make the internet safer for children and families since 1994, is calling on Conde Nast to shut down its rogue digital publication TeenVogue.com altogether for its long-term, reckless negligence evidenced in its sexually-exploitative articles encouraging its teen and tween audiences to engage in risky and often illegal sexual activity, including producing child pornography by sexting.
As reported in the Daily Caller, Teen Vogue took full advantage of the COVID 19 pandemic when it recently publicized it's "sexting" articles on Snapchat's Discover Feature featuring photos including: "Sexting should make you feel good," and "How to Sext: The Best Tips and Tricks." In its "Dating and the Coronavirus" article which accompanied the photos, author Nona Willis Aronowitz stated, "There are all kinds of creative, fun ways to sext, if you're at that level."
"Sexting," or sending explicit or nude pictures or videos to others via cell phones, computers, social media or any digital device, may be a crime under both federal and state laws when the person depicted in the images is under the age of 18 years old. State teen sexting laws prohibit the sending and receiving of sexually explicit images. Sexting laws vary by state, and some states have adopted laws that prescribe penalties aimed specifically at teenagers or adolescents who send such photos.
Depending on the circumstances, sexting may also be a federal crime under The PROTECT Act of 2003 which makes it illegal to produce, distribute, receive, or possess with intent to distribute any obscene visual depiction of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Lastly, child pornography charges can be brought under both state and federal child pornography laws whenever a person sends or receives explicit images of a person under the age of 18.
In January, the Internet Watch Foundation reported that self-generated imagery now accounts for almost a third of web pages featuring sexual images of children that they take down, and more than a third of those images feature 11 to 13-year-old children, of which the majority is girls.
By encouraging its underage teen audience to engage in the risky behavior of sexting by taking and sharing nude images of themselves, TeenVogue.com, which boasts of 11.6M users and 13.4M social media followers, places youth at the following risks:
Ironically, Teen Vogue's sexting articles were posted at the same time the FBI issued a press release warning school closings due to COVID-19 present a potential for increased risk of child exploitation as students are spending more unsupervised time at home on computers.
Yet, the threat posed upon children worldwide didn't prevent Teen Vogue editors from posting a sexually-charged article just days later on "thirst traps" – selfie photos often provocative in nature designed to draw attention. In his article, "Everybody's Horny and Thirst Trapping Like There's No Tomorrow Because of the Coronavirus Pandemic" (April 3), Gabe Bercado declared, "those hots are going beyond sexting and enjoying porn: People are getting horny on main. Titties have been snapped. Nips have been slipped. Bulges, divulged. Twitter and Instagram have become minefields of thirst traps."
Teen Vogue made feeble attempts to mitigate avoidance of child pornography charges by reminding its young audience rules for sexting, telling its young readers to "protect yourself always by keeping your face — the most identifiable part of your body — out of the picture" and, "make sure the person you try it with is someone you trust". Despite this work-around approach to sharing sexting tips and advice, the suggestion to share self-generated, sexually explicit images has no place in a teen publication.
The once trusted fashion and beauty teen publication of Conde Nast, Teen Vogue is now a parent's worst nightmare. Conde Nast executives must not ignore Teen Vogue's rogue "anything and everything goes" sexually radical agenda which exploits the innocence and safety of youth, circumvents parental concerns and harms the Conde Nast brand.
Editors of TeenVogue.com have repeatedly ignored public pleas to stop posting explicit, sexualized content to its presumed "teen" demographic consisting of 13 – 19 year olds. Therefore, Enough Is Enough® is calling on the Board of Directors of Conde Nast, the reputable publisher of other popular publications including Architectural Digest and House and Gardens, to shut down the digital publication altogether. Enough Is Enough®!
TeenVogue.com is no stranger to publishing predatory, graphic and sexually explicit articles aimed at its young audience. EIE launched the national call to "Say No To Teen Vogue" in 2017 after the jaw-dropping digital publication release: "Anal Sex: What You Need to Know/How to Do it the Right Way." The article, which told its young readers, "This is anal 101, for teens, beginners, and all inquisitive folk," neglected any mention of the health risks associated with anal sex, which carries the highest risk of transmitting HIV, according to the CDC.
Since the campaign's first petition which collected over 49,000 petition signatories sent to Teen Vogue editors and Conde Nast Board members, Teen Vogue ceased its print magazine and editor-in-chief, Elaine Welteroth, and chief content editor, Philip Picardi is no longer on staff. Prior to his departure, Picardi responded to EIE's campaign in a boastful tweet showcasing a photo of himself kissing another man while giving the finger. His tweet was captioned: "In conclusion, here's my only reply I'll be giving to any of the messages." Further, the New York Times reported a $120 million-dollar financial loss for its publisher.
The controversial publication, has not backed down from the public outrage and continue to publish graphic and outrageous articles to normalize potentially harmful activities for its minor readers including: