Milan ATM employee investigated after passenger spots sexist chat sharing surveillance photos of women

Discovery on a crowded tram

A young woman travelling on Milan's tram line 15 noticed an off-duty ATM driver scrolling through a WhatsApp group named 'Ticinese staff' on his phone. The screen showed a photo of a female passenger's body, apparently taken from the vehicle's onboard surveillance cameras. She photographed the screen herself, capturing the image and the usernames of other group members, and later filed a complaint through her lawyer, Cathy La Torre.

The chat's content

Investigators say the group, which had at least seven participants by some accounts and more than ten by others, was used to share stills of women extracted from the CCTV feeds of buses and trams. The images were accompanied by sexist and vulgar remarks. One of the members is reported to be a retired ATM employee. Milan's public prosecutor, Marcello Viola, has opened an inquiry into unlawful access to a computer system.

Investigation widens

Police executed search warrants on the suspect, a tram driver from route 15, and four other ATM employees who are not currently under formal investigation. Mobile phones and other IT material were seized. Prosecutors Grazia Colacicco and Carlo Enea Parodi are trying to determine whether the images were obtained by simply photographing the driver's cabin monitor or by accessing the company's database, which stores footage for up to seven days. Only operations-room staff are authorised to access that archive.

Institutional response

ATM filed a criminal complaint and also lodged a report with Italy's data protection authority, the Garante della Privacy. All employees involved in the chat have been suspended from duty and from pay. The company said it rejects any form of harmful conduct.

Broader reaction

The case quickly spread on social media. Writer and activist Carlotta Vagnoli discussed it in her newsletter, and other influencers joined the conversation. In Lombardy's regional council, Democratic Party group leader Pierfrancesco Majorino criticised public figures who, in his view, downplay violence against women, naming Roberto Vannacci as an example.