Your Kid's Phone Can Commit a Crime: Texas Laws Teens Break Without Realizing It

Most kids do not think of a screenshot, a group chat, or a joke posted for laughs as a crime. Texas law does.

I have had several of these conversations lately, and they tend to start the same way: a parent describes something their child did on a phone, certain it was a mistake, and then learns that the mistake has a statute number attached to it. The behavior is usually careless rather than cruel. The consequences do not make that distinction.

Here are the laws Texas teenagers break most often without realizing they are breaking anything at all.

Sexting — Tex. Penal Code § 43.261

Sending, forwarding, or even keeping a nude photo of someone under 18 is a crime, even when both kids are minors and the photo was sent voluntarily. AI-generated images count too. More serious cases can be charged under the child pornography statute, § 43.26, which is a felony.

The word that surprises parents most is "keeping." A photo that arrives on a child's phone and is never deleted can still be possession. Deleting it does not undo the fact that it was sent, but it does change what a child is holding.

Terroristic Threat — § 22.07

"I'm going to shoot up the school," written in a text, a post, or a group chat, even as a joke, can lead to an arrest. If it disrupts a school or causes an evacuation, it can be charged as a felony.

Teenagers communicate in hyperbole, and the law does not read intent the way a friend reads tone. Schools are required to treat these statements seriously, and once a report reaches law enforcement, "it was a joke" becomes part of the case rather than the end of it.

Online Impersonation — § 33.07

Making a fake account in someone else's name to embarrass, harass, or get back at them can be a felony. Sending messages while pretending to be someone else is also a crime.

Breach of Computer Security — § 33.02

Logging into a friend's Instagram, Snapchat, or email without permission is a crime — even when the child knows the password. Knowing a password is not permission, and a friendship is not consent.

Harassment and Cyberbullying — § 42.07

Repeated messages meant to harass, torment, or embarrass someone can be criminal. Texas strengthened these protections under what is known as David's Law, named for a San Antonio teenager who died by suicide after sustained online harassment.

A single cruel message is usually a discipline issue. A pattern is a different matter.

Invasive Visual Recording — § 21.15

Secretly taking photos or video of someone in a locker room or bathroom, or underneath their clothing, is a crime.

This one comes up more often than parents expect in school settings, where phones are everywhere and privacy is easy to assume and easy to violate.

Sharing Intimate Images Without Consent — § 21.16

Posting or forwarding someone's private, intimate photo without their consent — commonly called revenge porn — is a crime.

Deepfakes — § 21.165

Using an app or an AI tool to create or share fake sexual images of a real person is a crime. Texas expanded this law in 2025 to cover AI-made images, not just videos.

This is the fastest-moving item on the list. Tools that were not widely available a few years ago now sit on a teenager's phone, and the law has moved to follow them.

Why the consequences outlast the phone

A juvenile record does not disappear on its own, and a criminal charge can follow a young person into college applications, scholarship decisions, and job interviews. What felt like a thirty-second decision in a group chat can shape a decade.

The conversation to have now

Talk to your kids about what is on their phones before a screenshot handles the conversation for you. Ask what they would do if a photo arrived that they knew they should not have. Ask what they think a joke about violence sounds like to someone who does not know them. Explain that knowing a password is not permission, and that deleting something does not erase what already happened.

If your family is already facing a situation like one of these, our criminal defense page explains how we approach these cases, and you are welcome to contact us with questions.

This post is for general educational purposes and is not legal advice. Every situation is different, and the outcome of any matter depends on its own facts.