Justen Then has an article at Computerworld Malaysia where the roll out of Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) has him musing about socal changes required in a world where is MMS is widely deployed.

Cost aside, there are other issues with MMS that concern me. And that is in regards to privacy and social etiquette. We’ve all heard about it and read in the papers about how unscrupulous people are abusing the use of camera phones. Images of unsuspecting victims changing in locker rooms and voyeuristic captured glimpses down innocent ladies’ neckline and under their skirts are just some cases that come to mind. In other cases, some visitors to trade shows have even used camera phones to take pictures of competitors’ products when it is clearly stated at the entrance that no cameras are allowed into such areas.

Now, I’m not saying that with such possible abuse, MMS and camera phones should therefore be banned from the masses. Far from being a Luddite, I think we should embrace all these new technologies for there is bound to be some good that we can get out of them.

The problem, however, is in instilling a sense of social responsibility and etiquette among users. Yes, there are already laws in the country that prohibit and penalise such sick behaviour, but a little more nudging and coaxing towards acceptable use of such services will not hurt the cause one bit. And this is where I believe service providers and phone manufacturers should take a lead role.