Last year's sex-photos scandal has come back to haunt its victims and grip the city. When the photos were first leaked, their revealing nature made it hard for many people to resist a strong salacious interest in viewing them. This time, we should have a better understanding and perspective. Unfortunately, judging from the latest reports, people continue to focus on the stars themselves rather than the larger issues at stake. The heart of the matter has to do with privacy and personal responsibility - concepts that have changed in the age of digital technology. For better or worse, user-friendly digital gadgets have had a profound impact on our lifestyle, handling of personal data and interactions with others. But public morality has been slow to catch up to new demands. The scandal has exposed issues that society needs to address as a whole. Yet there has been little public debate on the matter. One reason may be that, despite its westernised and hi-tech appearance, Hong Kong remains a deeply traditional and conservative society. Many people have been quick to pour scorn on the actresses photographed, rather than express sympathy for them. Premarital sex, at least when it is exposed, is frowned upon in our society. This is especially harsh on women caught up in such circumstances. Gillian Chung Yan-tung, of the duo Twins, had to apologise publicly last year when the scandal broke. On Friday, Cecilia Cheung Pak-chi said sorry on a TV interview for her indiscretions, but not before rounding on Edison Chen Koon-hei for being insincere and failing to apologise personally to her and the other women involved. Understandably, the photos have probably caused irreparable damage to Chung's career because the Twins cultivated a wholesome image among their youthful fans. Chung may have felt she let down her fans. But beyond this, the women are the victims and should have nothing to apologise for. Their privacy has been violated. Yet they have had to flee the media and hide in shame this past year. For this state of affairs, Chen is directly responsible. Though a victim himself, his own carelessness and cavalier handling of the digital photos stored in his personal computer made the leaks possible. He claimed to have deleted the photos before taking his computer to a shop for repair, but this precaution was obviously insufficient to prevent them being leaked. Photos and videos used to be shot on film, so such leaks would have been difficult, if not impossible, in a pre-digital era. If stored as film, Chen's photos would certainly not have been disseminated so quickly to such diverse audiences around the world. But digital technology has made it easy to transfer images, and the internet helped the sex photos spread like wildfire. Once they are on the Net, it is impossible to retrieve them. As a result, a wrong can never be fully righted again. The nude photos, taken among consenting adults, are private property. The activities that took place in their bedrooms are none of our business. If those photos had been of family activities, most people would have immediately understood someone's privacy had been violated. But their highly sexual nature has clouded the issue. Digital technology has given us new power, but also new responsibility. The ease with which we now handle digital data means we must take extra care in protecting - and respecting - each other's privacy.
