The news have taught us that cameras phones are a God-given tool for Peeping Toms. Two websites dedicated to “up skirt” or “down blouse” snaps taken by camera phones attract around a million visits per day.

Advances in camphones technology are fuelling the popularity of sites such as Projectvoyeur. “When we first began, most of our contributions were sent as normal photographs copied via a scanner,” says Terry, its founder, “Today, 99.9 per cent of all we receive is from digital cameras. The difference in quality is impressive. Also, digital cameras allow you to immediately distribute the images, whereas it’s quite a hassle for non-techies to scan in normal photographs and then e-mail them to us.”

Jack Whitfield, of Privatevoyeur, another site that attracts more than half-a-million viewers per day, agrees: “Digital cameras and now phone cameras make it easier for the voyeur to take the photos and put them online, where they can be immediately accessed by the world.”

The proliferation of digital Peeping Toms has led countries to adopt drastic measures. But the law is having trouble keeping up. A new offence of voyeurism that came into effect in Britain in May focuses on “observing another person doing a private act” in a place that “would reasonably expect to provide privacy”. Which doesn’t include pictures taken in a bar, on the escalator in a shopping centre or on the beach.

Besides, lawmakers are struggling with the notion of privacy in public spaces. In California, for instance, the law states that if a person can’t be identified, “there’s no harm”.

And, of course, there is the old internet problem of globalisation. Websites that can be viewed here are not necessarily based here.

Some experts predict that, thanks to legal confusion and advancing technology, there could be worse to come.

Diana Russell, author of Against Pornography: The Evidence of Harm, points out that clandestine pictures of women will be circulating on the internet for years to come, with the potential to ruin relationships and careers. “Who would believe these women if they said the participation was against their wishes and previously unknown to them,” she warns.

Agreeing to pose for your boyfriend doesn’t mean you consent to have the snaps plastered over the internet. The founder of Projectvoyeur admits that, “We’ve had many requests to remove images from women whose spouses have sent photos to us without them knowing, and we remove them.”

But only if the women find out!

Much more in The Independant, via Noticiasdot.