SHUTTER DOWN
Female athletes at Paris Olympics to wear special hi-tech uniforms to block ‘illicit’ photos
Japan has had a history of developing anti-voyeurism technology
FEMALE athletes at the Olympics will wear innovative uniforms that have been designed to stop illicit photography.
The Japanese team will have their gear made by sportswear brand Mizuno during the Paris games.
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The company has developed a material that will prevent infrared images of their bodies being taken.
There have been complaints from athletes that the pictures are shared on social media with explicit captions.
Mizuno released a statement in support of the athletes.
A post read: "In recent years, female athletes at competition venues and other locations are increasingly the victim of hidden photography and filming taken for illicit purposes, the images and videos of which are then disseminated over the internet.
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"Recently, in addition to visible light cameras, infrared cameras are also being used, and athletes are the victim of photographs that reveal images of their underwear and body underneath their uniforms."
The Japanese table tennis, athletics, and volleyball teams will wear uniforms that have the fabric built into them.
Mizuno has insisted that the fabric will "protect athletes and allow them to focus on their competition".
The sportswear brand launched a project to research and develop the material to help deal with the issue.
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It has also claimed that the material has maintained the quality that the athletes will need to perform.
It it not new in Japan as many firms from the country have been developing products to prevent illicit pictures being taken by voyeurs.
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All phones that are sold in Japan with built-in cameras are designed with a feature that means the shutter sound when a picture is taken can not be removed.
The sound is also played when a screenshot on a device is taken and it will go off even in the phone has been muted.
In 2021, there were over 5,000 arrests for camera voyeurism which is almost 2,000 more than in 2011, according to the country’s National Police Agency.
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