A group of men took secret pictures of a little girl as she shopped with her mum in Glasgow's Buchanan Galleries.
The child's mum revealed her horror when a member of the public alerted her to the group concerning behaviour.
Lorraine McMenemy says she confronted the five 20 to 50 year olds, near the food court, who eventually deleted the images.
The 37-year-old, who was shopping with Grace, seven, and husband Paul, reported the incident to security at the mall, who asked the group to leave.
But she was shocked to later learn from police that they group's unsettling behaviour is not against the law, the Daily Record reports.
Lorraine explained: "I approached the group of men who were standing near the food court and asked if they had been taking pictures of my child.
"One of the men admitted to having pictures of Grace, which were deliberately zoomed in so she was all that was in the picture.
"He claimed he always took pictures of children wherever he went.
"I became upset and started shouting and forced him to delete the pictures."
The mum, from the Milton area, has now called on a change in the law to make photographing children without consent illegal.
She added: "This is a huge grey area. Anyone can take pictures of your children and nothing can be done about it.
"Keep your kids close and don't let them out of your sight."
A spokesperson for Buchanan Galleries told the Daily Record: "Our security team was approached by a member of the public who expressed concerns about the behaviour of a group of men. A member of our security approached the group and following a conversation with them they were asked to leave and were escorted from the centre.
"Safety and security of our staff and visitors is our highest priority and we will always work with Police Scotland on any matter of concern."
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: "Police were called to an incident at the Buchanan Galleries at around 2.25 on Sunday January 26 following an incident that took place earlier that afternoon.
"Enquiries to establish the full circumstances are ongoing."
