Justin Bieber
Justin Bieber's representatives have issued a cease and desist letter to New York Daily News, the outlet that published the naked photos exclusively on 8 October Handout/Getty

The internet went into a frenzy earlier this week after naked photos of Justin Bieber went viral. The What Do You Mean? singer was holidaying in Bora Bora when he was caught by paparazzi as he was about to go skinny-dipping with friends.

Several of the snaps contained full-frontal nudity, as he was seen walking from the inside of a secluded seaside villa to the decking outside.

As expected, many reacted to the photos, with many onlookers suggesting that it was wrong of both the photographer and the outlet to broadcast such private images.

And they aren't the only ones angered by the actions, it has now been reported that the 21-year-old's legal team is demanding that several US websites remove the photographs from their platforms.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, there has been a cease and desist letter sent from representatives, Myman Greenspan, that reads: "We recently became informed that your company has obtained and is distributing unauthorized photographs of our client including images showing him without clothing." It was allegedly sent shortly after the images went live and demanded action within 12 hours of receipt.

The photos were published exclusively on New York Daily News, which covered Bieber's modesty using Photoshop but the uncensored images leaked not long after on Twitter, sparking strong reactions from Beliebers and other users who saw and shared the snaps.

Shortly after the photos started circulating online, a spokesperson from the photo agency that was responsible for capturing the images argued: "There was no invasion of privacy," but reportedly avoided answering whether or not a long-zoom lens was used to take the pictures.

Publication The Debrief criticised both the uploading and the sharing of the photos, writing: "Jokes aside, we are excusing this because Justin Bieber is a dude. There would be a modicum of outrage if this were a female celebrity who was photographed unsuspectingly while under the guise of privacy."

Since the photos surfaced, Bieber has been spotted returning to work as normal in Los Angeles, and has not responded to the incident on any of his social media accounts, despite having tweeted and using Instagram to promote his upcoming album since it happened.