While the images may be legal, they are often considered to be in poor taste.
When questioned regarding their legality, legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin stated he thought it was not illegal, though legal expert Sunny Hostin was more skeptical, describing them as 'borderline' child pornography which may be illegal. The legal status of jailbait images is unclear. The online distribution of these images has caused legal and moral controversy, in some cases leading to the censorship of both the images and the word itself as a search term. Jailbait depicts tween or young teens in skimpy clothing such as bikinis, short skirts, or underwear. They can be differentiated from child pornography as they do not usually contain nudity. Jailbait images are sexualized images of minors who are perceived to meet the definition of jailbait.
