Recently, a photo of an All Nippon Airways ANA stewardess being secretly photographed in the cabin caused a furor on the Internet. This photo was first uploaded to a sweet potato, and with a sexually suggestive text description, ANA ladies I love, especially the Nissan, but also with black silk stewardess legs Tokyo and other tags, deliberately emphasizing the appearance of features, obviously with the tendency to objectify women.
This photo was then screenshotted and forwarded to the Japanese social media platform X before Twitter, quickly triggered strong criticism of Japanese netizens, that this kind of non-consensual clandestine photography is a serious violation of the person’s right to portrait and privacy, and may even constitute a crime. At the same time, there are also overseas netizens who hold a different view on this matter, that this action is not illegal, and some people even questioned how this is illegal? It used to be okay, but now it’s not? Such comments have further intensified the controversy among netizens around the world.
According to Japanese media, the photo was taken inside the cabin of an airplane, with an ANA flight attendant sitting in a work seat near the emergency exit, looking down at her work tablet, seemingly unaware that she was being secretly photographed. Not only that, but her name tag is clearly visible in some of the circulating photos, exposing her identity to the Internet and further aggravating the infringement of personal privacy.
After the incident came to light, Japanese netizens generally expressed their anger that the clandestine photo-taking not only lacks basic respect, but also may lead to secondary victimization of the victim, even affecting her career. They called on airlines and relevant law enforcement agencies to take measures to strengthen the fight against clandestine photo-taking in the cabin and to ensure that crew members can work in a safe and respectful environment.
However, some overseas netizens hold a different view, believing that clandestine photo-taking does not involve a crime, and some have even left messages on social media platforms refuting that it’s just an ordinary photo, so why make such a big deal out of it? Why make a big deal out of it? There are so many photos of celebrities and Internet celebrities, and there’s no problem, so why can’t flight attendants be photographed? This kind of comment triggered a dispute among netizens, and also made the legal definition of clandestine photo-taking behavior become the focus of discussion.
In the face of this storm, ANA official quickly responded, said the company has mastered the relevant situation, confirmed that the woman in the photo is indeed its flight attendants, and the shooting behavior has not been authorized by the parties concerned.ANA has formally submitted a request for deletion of a sweet potato, and received a reply from the other side said that at present, the post no longer exists. However, some netizens questioned the difficulty of deleting the photo, as it may still be circulating on other social media platforms or in private groups.
The ANA further emphasized that in 2023, Japan will formally update the crime of photography and summarization, explicitly stipulating that taking sexually suggestive or invasive images without the consent of the person in question is punishable by up to three years in prison or a fine of up to 3,000,000 yen (approximately 150,000 RMB). This law applies to a wide range of situations, and may constitute a crime regardless of whether the filming takes place in a public place, a private area, or even inside the cabin of an airplane. Therefore, ANA strongly condemns this act of clandestine filming and states that it will take stricter legal measures to protect the rights of its employees in the future.
In addition, ANA also mentioned that recently there have been frequent photographs of flight attendants on social networks, some of which have even been deliberately labeled as provocative, which not only violates the privacy of flight crew members, but also contributes to the disrespect of female workers. The company has pledged to take more preventive measures and called on social platforms to strengthen content auditing to avoid contributing to the culture of clandestine photo-taking.
In the past, clandestine photo-taking was mostly concentrated in public places such as streets, subways and shopping malls, but with the rise of social media, more and more clandestine photographers are using the Internet to distribute non-consensual photos, putting the privacy of their victims at greater risk.
The dangers of clandestine photography go beyond the legal aspect, and can be traumatizing for the victim. Crewmembers who are photographed may not only feel uncomfortable about having their personal information exposed, but may also experience harassment or discrimination in the workplace. Some airline employees even adjust their behavior for fear of being photographed, such as deliberately avoiding certain seats or reducing interaction with passengers, which undoubtedly affects the normal working atmosphere.
On the other hand, despite the gradual tightening of the law on clandestine photo-taking in Japan, the definition of clandestine photo-taking is still vague in some countries and regions, leading many netizens to take a chance and believe that clandestine photo-taking is not a crime. However, with the strengthening of privacy laws in various countries, the act of taking and distributing images of others without their consent will face harsher penalties in the future, and social media platforms may be required to take on greater responsibility to avoid becoming a tool for distributing illegal content.
This controversy over clandestine photography may be an opportunity to promote a deeper discussion on privacy protection and cyber ethics in society.
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