Parent alert: Most dangerous show ever for your children

MTV's newest TV series is so racy the network's own executives worried during a meeting last week whether they could be charged with child pornography, according to a report in the New York Times.

Network execs and the producers of the show "Skins" have plenty to worry about, from potential legal problems to angry parents and the flight of mainstream advertisers.

The Parents Television Council believes the show has gone to a new level of depravity in its depictions of adolescent sexual acts. A PTC alert sent to parents about the show said that in addition to the sexual content in the debut episode, "Skins" had clocked 42 depictions and references to drugs and alcohol during the 41-minute premiere. "It is absolutely crucial," the alert warned, "that you be aware of the most dangerous program that has ever been foisted on your children!"

Mainstream advertisers are abandoning "Skins" as national shock grows. Taco Bell pulled its ads, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Wrigley and GM have done the same, and H&R Block told TMZ its ad ran on the show only by mistake.

Why all the hubbub? An upcoming episode of "Skins" is scheduled to show a naked teenage actor after his character takes a male enhancement pill, according to a Washington Post blog.

That and other depictions of sex acts make that concern about potential child porn charges pretty realistic, a former chief of the U.S. Department of Justice Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section said Monday. "Given the allegations of sexually explicit conduct by minors that have been made in news reports and by the show's distributors, MTV and Viacom, some material may constitute child pornography under U.S. law if certain conditions are met," said Patrick A. Trueman, who is now the CEO of Morality in Media.

"U. S. child pornography laws prohibit any visual depiction involving children under the age of 18 engaged in 'sexually explicit conduct,' which is defined under those laws as 'actual or simulated' sexual intercourse, including ... a variety of other sexual acts," Trueman said.

Others agree. Amy M. Adler, a professor of law at New York University who specializes in free speech, art and pornography, told the New York Times, "There are times when I look at mainstream culture and think it is skirting up against the edge of child pornography law."

The marketing campaign also bothers many parents. Video clips posted on Teen.com before the show debuted portrayed characters promoting sex and drug use.