3.6 mn Mexicans have posted racy photos online

MEXICO CITY, MEXICO: Around 3.6 million Mexican teenagers say they have posted photos of themselves in "provocative poses" on the Internet, a data-protection agency said.

And more than 40 per cent of those young people say they do not consider it dangerous to go out on a date with someone they met online, Commissioner Angel Trinidad Zaldivar said.

Trinidad said that "a new culture of personal data protection" must be pushed in Mexico, a statement said.

In Mexico, where e-commerce represents some 15 per cent of total buying and selling, there are some 40 million regular Internet users, a quarter of them teens.

Of those, 45 per cent have their computer in their room and 30 per cent post personal data such as their address, telephone number, school name and family photos on the social networks, the agency said.

Mexico has a federal law protecting personal data but continues to face great challenges in this area, Trinidad said.

"Every day we leave a large trace of personal information; we consult Internet pages, we send e-mails, we make purchases with a credit card, calls from our cell phone and thanks to the flow of information big companies obtain an average of 2,500 details on each of us each month," he said.

In Mexico, the most frequent crimes that occur online are identity theft, fraud, extortion, child pornography and piracy, according to the Mexican Internet Association.