March 8, 2006
Unwitting cameraphone porn stars
MSNBC writes on the perils of cameraphones, as young people are using them to film intimate moments and how these moments, first spread, then take on a life of their own.
Picture left, women posing for a camera phone photo in Ormond Beach, Florida
"The top three subjects the blogosphere was buzzing about last week via Technorati, were “Tammy,” “ Tammy Download” and “Nyp Tammy.”
According to The Star (Malaysia), “Tammy” was a 17-year-old Singapore student who filmed herself having sex with her boyfriend on her videophone. The phone was lost — then found — by people who released the video onto the Internet.
“I have done nothing wrong,” “Tammy” told The Straits Times, a Malaysian newspaper. “I don’t know why people are making such a big fuss about it. Everyone does it [films video clips of themselves], even my friends.”
“It was just for fun ... we don’t intend to be porn stars,” she added.
... The second part of her statement should make people take notice: more young people are snapping pictures and video of themselves on their camera phones... and not always in the best situations.
Those that post their camera phone snapshots online may not intend to become “porn stars,” but as law enforcement and the media have time and time again pointed out, that may be what they unwittingly become to online predators. This raises the question: are camera phones and the Internet a perfect match… or a perfect storm?"
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