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from the look-for-people-in-trench-coats dept.
The BBC reports on a woman who was sent pictures of a penis via Apple AirDrop.
The victim received two pictures of an unknown man's penis on her phone via Apple's Airdrop sharing function.
Lorraine Crighton-Smith, 34, said she felt "violated" and reported it to the British Transport Police (BTP).
Supt Gill Murray said this particular crime was new to her force and urged people to report any other incidents.
Ms Crighton-Smith, who was travelling on a train in south London, told the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire programme: "I had Airdrop switched on because I had been using it previously to send photos to another iPhone user - and a picture appeared on the screen of a man's penis, which I was quite shocked by.
The article later describes how to make sure that AirDrop is set to only allow pictured from known contacts.
Is this a major privacy issue or is it simply a case of a misconfigured device?
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Runaway1956 on Tuesday August 18 2015, @07:42PM
I'm trying to see this from more than one perspective.
Me, and most guys, would roll our eyes at a flasher. He's to damned retarded to take seriously.
I've known women with pretty much the same attitude. That, or they are just to dignified and unflappable to show the desired reaction.
Most women are shocked, and react predictably. And, that is exactly what the flasher is looking for. You ask "is that ok too?" Well, of course not. It's less alright than picking your nose in public. I just can't see making a big deal of it. The big deal only encourages and rewards the retard. Negative attention is better than no attention for some people.
I suppose that the right thing to do is to call the cops. My reaction to the story probably stems from "much ado about nothing". Some nobody flashes a woman, and it becomes an international story because it was done digitally. I'm pretty confident that someone was flashed in real life in Philadelphia this week, and someone was mooned in Boston, and on and on - but because it took place in meatspace, the media took no notice at all.
Shocking and newsworthy, because COMPUTERS!!
(Score: 2) by Anne Nonymous on Tuesday August 18 2015, @07:54PM
Interesting points, thank you.
(Score: 2) by Magic Oddball on Wednesday August 19 2015, @04:34PM
Since you're theoretically trying to see the issue from different perspectives:
If the woman doesn't spend time on the websites that resemble a men's locker room or other sites where trying to 'shock' people with images is normal, of course she's going to feel shocked. It's a logical reaction, not an undignified one.
Women that *do* spend time on those sites might not be shocked, meanwhile, but most would be somewhat alarmed by the pic, as it can be sent as an implied threat. Most of us learn early on that we're not remotely as strong as men (thus that we're in real trouble if one tackles us), and according to the BBC there's been a sharp rise in sexual assaults on the Tube. It's a bit like there being a sudden rash of bank robberies, then a guy sending a picture of a gun to a bank teller.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Wednesday August 19 2015, @05:37PM
Interesting. I like your choice of words with "alarmed". More women - and men - should be alarmed more often. The term shocked seems a bit overboard to me. Among other things, I do have EMT training (Emergency Medical Technician - spelled it out since you're on the other side of the big pond) and I associate shock with trauma. Alarmed. I'm fairly big, fairly strong, and I've held my own in plenty of fights - but I'm still alarmed if some guy starts following me. Being alarmed, I'll react differently than most women, but, yes, I'm alarmed. Alarm is a perfectly valid reaction when a potential threat is percieved.