The camera hidden in the hotel and homestay
2024-10-24
I went out to stay, but unexpectedly, every move of the guest was live streamed in real-time. Stealing camera equipment is hidden in hidden locations such as sockets, televisions, air conditioners, ceiling smoke alarms, and even nails, hangers, etc. in hotels and homestays, silently peering into the secret records. On the other end of the camera, transactions and madness are happening simultaneously. In September, a blogger named "Shadow Doesn't Lie" and his team discovered multiple secretly filmed cameras in a room at a homestay in Huaqiang Square, Shijiazhuang. After reporting to the police, the blogger was surrounded by multiple people in the hallway. This incident once again triggered the public's fear and anxiety about the act of secretly filming. Wu Shenkuo, doctoral supervisor of the School of Law of Beijing Normal University and deputy director of the Research Center of the China Internet Association, told the reporter of the China Youth Daily and China Youth Network that although the phenomenon of sneak photography has been vigorously controlled in recent years, because of the continuous emergence of new technologies, the live broadcast mode has made the infringement of sneak photography more extensive, and the regulatory challenges continue to increase. He pointed out that hotels and homestays need to first assume the obligation of preventing, informing, and promptly handling incidents of illegal filming. In addition, according to the Personal Information Protection Law of the People's Republic of China, when guests discover that they have been infringed upon by unauthorized filming, they can provide basic information to provide evidence and file a claim for rights protection, demanding that hotels and homestays bear the presumed liability for infringement, and in turn, promoting relevant institutions to make effective self inspection and response. Regulatory authorities should also increase their regulatory efforts and change the way they regulate. The sneaky filming industry, which can make a fortune with a single investment, continues to thrive despite repeated bans. "The reason why the sneaky filming industry persists despite repeated bans is that it always makes a fortune with a single investment," Gao Yandong, Vice Dean of the Digital Rule of Law Research Institute at Zhejiang University, told reporters from China Youth Daily and China Youth Network. Currently, the division of labor in the sneaky filming industry chain is clear, and it has formed three aspects: equipment manufacturing and sales, equipment installation, video acquisition and dissemination, namely front-end sneaky filming tools, mid-range sneaky filming opportunities, and back-end sneaky filming dissemination behavior. The Ministry of Public Security had already explicitly prohibited the illegal production of photo stealing and eavesdropping devices as early as 2014, but Gao Yandong believes that the situation is not optimistic. On October 11th, the reporter searched for "pinhole camera" on Taobao, JD.com, and Pinduoduo apps, all of which showed no related products. However, reporters can still search for small-sized and highly concealed cameras promoted by stores through other keywords such as "compact", "pinhole", or keywords automatically filled in the search box, such as "camera head". Some cameras are only the size of nail caps, and common slogans for such products include "I can find them, I'll eat them", "silent and light free", and "confidential shipping". The price of this type of camera ranges from tens to hundreds of yuan. In addition to the fact that channels for selling miniature cameras can still be found online, Gao Yandong pointed out that offline channels are more covert, and in practice, there are also illegal individuals who purchase parts and program and assemble them themselves. Gao Yandong introduced that according to data from the State Administration for Market Regulation (formerly the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine) in 2017, about 80% of smart cameras have privacy leakage risks, including products that manufacturers leave a "fast track" for criminals during production. Hackers infiltrate smart home cameras through technical means and usually make profits through paid live streaming. The scenes of secretly filming confidential records cover both private and public places. The spy installed pinhole cameras in private places such as hotels, homestays, and rental rooms. In the Shijiazhuang incident, the blogger found the camera in the ventilation duct of the homestay air conditioner. Criminals also install pinhole cameras in toilets in public places with high traffic such as parks, amusement parks, and beaches. "Among them, the installation in women's toilets is more common. Usually, videos of women using the toilet are classified according to their age and appearance characteristics, and then sold to websites or individual buyers," said Gao Yandong. The purchase price of secretly filmed equipment is low, but secretly filmed videos can be sold multiple times or even "privately customized" for home live streaming. According to Gao Yandong's research, there are two main ways to profit from secretly filming. One is paid live streaming, where you can usually buy the viewing rights of three to five hotel cameras for 400-600 yuan, and the price of home cameras will be lower. One type is video sales, where criminals edit private videos and sell them to websites for 100-300 yuan per video, or sell the videos directly to viewers for several yuan to tens of yuan, but there are countless buyers. How are the cameras hidden in the rooms of hotels and homestays? After the incident was exposed, many people raised questions about it. The "Shadow" blogger mentioned in an interview with Elephant News that many groups set up their servers overseas and command idle individuals within the country, commonly known as "Little Ponies," by paying commissions or sharing profits. They mail them modified equipment, inform them of the installation location and how to debug the equipment, and delete their own installation videos after installation. Wang Hui (pseudonym), who operated a homestay in Beijing from 2017 to 2020, told a reporter from China Youth Daily and China Youth Network that she had learned during conversations with her peers that some homestay owners had already installed cameras in their rooms during renovation. The other party said that they can earn a lot of money by running a legitimate homestay, and they all do it this way (referring to installing cameras). The videos will be synchronized to the cloud, and some will be live streamed in real time. The daily live streaming income is considerable. After a year of making a steady profit and transferring the homestay, even if the camera is detected, it's not his business anymore Wang Hui said that she rejected the advice of her peers and purchased a testing device. She also posted signs in each room to remind customers to protect their privacy before checking in. Gao Yandong pointed out that there are indeed cases where operators install their own cameras, which are more common around schools and tourist attractions, and relatively less common in business travel hotels; There may be fewer hotels and homestays with complete qualifications and strong brand effects, while there may be more residences with incomplete qualifications. However, he does not believe that this is a common situation. "I am willing to believe that the majority of hotel and homestay operators in China have their own professional ethics and will not secretly take photos for profit. Only a few operators would do so. Gao Yandong stated that the spy photography industry gradually became rampant from 2017 to 2018. Before 2020, the spy photography industry was still expanding. It was not until November 2021, when the Cybersecurity Bureau of the Ministry of Public Security deployed a strict crackdown on spy photography and voyeurism in the black industry chain in accordance with the law, that the spy photography industry began to converge. In recent years, with the launch of the Clean Net Movement, many channels for purchasing pinhole cameras online have been shut down, and many websites that spread related private videos have also been shut down in large numbers. But the situation where gangs commit crimes to spread pornography for profit still exists, and the use of new technologies makes it more difficult to detect For example, micro cameras such as pinhole cameras can not only live stream in real-time online, but also have "no infrared" capabilities, making them difficult to detect. Criminals also sell secretly filmed videos through online chat tools or cloud storage, making it harder to detect their dissemination behavior. After the Shijiazhuang incident, various ways of teaching people to check hidden cameras have emerged on online platforms, leading to an increase in sales of anti spy cameras. A large number of "anti spy bloggers" have also emerged, with some bloggers releasing footage with coded perspectives, unknown sources and locations, claiming to attract the attention of victims and netizens, "lightning protection" related hotels and homestays, and recommending netizens to purchase relevant detection camera equipment. Some netizens have questioned the video source, believing that this method also causes secondary harm to the victims. Wu Wenyu, who used to work for a photography equipment brand, pointed out that some popular inspection methods may not be effective recently. "If people believe in the wrong methods, they will actually condone the use of secret cameras. Wu Wenyu actually tested a device that uses reflected red light to find a camera and a laser pen. The former requires the camera to reflect light and find the correct angle of illumination, while the latter requires continuous and large-scale laser irradiation. Therefore, he believes that the effectiveness of these two methods is relatively limited. Using network scanning software to screen for suspicious devices is also a commonly mentioned method. The software principle of network analysis is to scan devices under the same network, and those that are not recognized are suspicious devices. Basically, scanning software on the market can achieve this function. "Wu Wenyu reminded that there is a possibility of missed reports in the software, and if the camera is connected to other Wi Fi or not using Wi Fi, it cannot be detected. Once video recording equipment is used, it will generate a large amount of heat, which can be scanned and identified using a thermal imaging scanner. Wu Wenyu tested both the socket and smoke sensor simultaneously, and found that their own heat is not high during operation. Once a hidden camera is installed, it can be detected by scanning with a scanner. He believes that this method is the most effective, but the disadvantage is that the instrument price is high, costing eight to nine hundred yuan per unit. In addition, the blogger involved in the incident specifically reminded in an interview that when ordinary people stay in hotels and homestays, the first thing to check is the "electrified areas", because most cameras need to be powered on to operate. A reporter from China Youth Daily and China Youth Net found that some online shopping platforms promote "plug in free" cameras. Wu Wenyu said that the power consumption of spy cameras is relatively high, and the power capacity of "plug in free" cameras is very small, which cannot support long-term use. It is more of a joke for merchants. Gao Yandong emphasized that if ordinary people discover secret filming, they should first collect and preserve relevant evidence, and try to protect the scene as much as possible for subsequent investigation and evidence collection. He specifically reminded that the illegal filming industry may involve gang crimes, and residents should prioritize their personal safety when they are weak, try to avoid conflicts with relevant personnel, report to the police in a timely manner, and apply for personal protection from the police when encountering personal threats. Secondly, guests should reasonably evaluate the qualifications of the accommodation location, whether it is a well-known hotel with high star rating certification, complete qualifications, and high brand awareness. If so, they can consider contacting the hotel manager for handling; If the qualifications of a small hotel or homestay are incomplete or the supervision is not in place, the relevant managers should be carefully notified to handle it, "because it is not clear whether there is a relationship between the managers and the act of secretly taking photos". On the evening of September 24, Xinhua Branch of Shijiazhuang Public Security Bureau issued a police report that all three suspect suspected of illegally using special equipment for eavesdropping and photographing had been arrested on September 24 and criminal coercive measures had been taken according to law. After interrogation, all three confessed to the criminal fact that they used accommodation to secretly install online shopping monitoring equipment in guest rooms to seek illegal interests, and did not know the owners of home stay. In 2023, the Second Procuratorate of Haidian District People's Procuratorate in Beijing handled a case of illegal filming. Criminals invited multiple girls to his residence under the pretext of filming film and television footage, and secretly captured private videos of the girls changing clothes using pre hidden camera equipment. The case was ultimately convicted and punished for the crime of infringing on citizens' personal information. The prosecutor in charge of the case, Li Peng, explained to reporters from China Youth Daily and China Youth Network that it is relatively rare in judicial practice to classify the case of secretly filming confidential records as a crime of infringing on citizens' personal information. This is also an attempt made by the judicial authorities to protect citizens' personal information, especially private audio and video information. The state implements strict protection of citizens' personal information. Li Peng stated that personal privacy also belongs to the category of citizens' personal information. If a secretly filmed or recorded video contains certain characteristics of human body parts, such as sexual organs and other private parts, or if it steals nude photos downloaded without permission, it falls under the scope of personal information protection. Regardless of the use of methods such as secretly filming, stealing, or downloading, it is subject to legal regulation. Li Peng introduced that in previous judicial practice, the charges of secretly filming and recording cases were identified,