B.C. NDP Leader Carole James says her candidate for Vancouver-False Creek showed "a lack of judgment" when he allowed risqu� photos of him to be posted on a social networking site.

Ray Lam, the New Democrat candidate for Vancouver-False Creek, stepped down on Sunday after racy photos on his Facebook profile from 2006 were made public.

One photo showed Lam grabbing a woman's chest, while another showed two people clutching at his underwear.

"I regret this material and the associated comments that have now become public," Lam said in a statement.

"I do not want this to be a distraction in the election campaign and have advised the party that I am stepping down."

The B.C. New Democrats vet their candidates' public pages, but Lam's photos weren't seen by the party because they were posted on a private page.

James says her candidates have been warned that their private Facebook pages may be brought into the public spotlight if they have offensive or embarrassing content.

Digital journalism expert and author Alfred Hermida says it is imperative to monitor what you post, even if you aren't in the public eye, because it can easily come back to haunt you.

"Anything you publish should be considered permanent and public and will be with you the rest of your life," said Hermida.

Hermida says the nature of the internet means anything you post leaves "digital breadcrumbs" that can be traced back to you at any time.

"Normally, if you were sharing photos like these with your friends with in a physical world you would control it by showing to only the people you trust, but now with uploading to a public site it can be seen by anyone," he said.

"And as soon as the media takes an interest in you, and you hit the public spotlight, that privacy you've enjoyed through obscurity is gone."

The problem is compounded if you're in politics.

"The issue is that if you're in the public office -- image counts," said Hermida.

"So for Mr. Lam it also becomes an issue of what the images say about him as a candidate, whether it means he isn't mature enough to handle the being in office or if it's just youthful exuberance."

NDP President Jeff Fox said the party would nominate a new candidate in the next few days to run in the seat.