ATM, sexist chat: employees involved suspended, one under investigation
One suspect and four others have had their homes searched. The offence of unauthorised access to a computer system is suspected
The first person under investigation in connection with the chat containing sexist comments and images of women taken from the CCTV cameras on Milan’s public transport is the ATM employee photographed a few days ago by a female passenger whilst he was viewing the ‘Ticinese staff’ chat. It was precisely that image that led local police investigators to search the homes of four other employees – who are not currently under investigation – who were also posting in the chat at the time. The offence alleged by prosecutors Grazia Colacicco and Carlo Enea Parodi is unauthorised access to a computer system.
The Milan Public Prosecutor’s Office, led by Marcello Viola, has turned the spotlight on the case following a complaint from the transport company, which immediately took steps to shed full light on the incident and has today suspended the employees involved, including their pay, whilst politicians continue to debate the case and the leader of the PD in the Lombardy Regional Council, Pierfrancesco Majorino, points the finger at those who deny femicide, such as Roberto Vannacci, who “shamelessly downplay the seriousness of men’s violence against women”.
The discovery and the report
It all began a few days ago on board a tram on line 15, along the route connecting Milan and Rozzano. A young female passenger noticed a chat on the phone of an ATM employee who was on a break, containing images of women accompanied by sexist jokes and obscene remarks. According to her account, these were not simply photographs, but still images taken from the CCTV cameras installed on public transport.
That tip-off triggered an investigation which led the investigators to trace the group’s original members – reportedly including a retired ATM employee – and to look into the possibility of misuse of the CCTV systems.
The case has thus progressed from reports on social media and internal investigations by ATM – which has also filed a report with the Data Protection Authority – to a full-scale criminal investigation. The investigators, who also seized mobile phones and other IT equipment from the five employees whose premises were searched, intend to establish the origin of those images, whether they were obtained by photographing footage from the vehicles’ internal CCTV system – which drivers can view – or through a more complex and unlawful intrusion into the central security video storage systems. Only in the latter case would the alleged offence of unauthorised access to a computer system be much more substantiated. It also remains to be established how many people were part of the chat group and how long it had been active. At that point, other employees could also come under investigation.
