Not long ago, a blogger posted a video exposing that multiple candid cameras were found in several homestays in Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province. The day after the incident, the local police reported that criminal coercive measures had been taken against the three suspects suspected of illegally using special equipment for eavesdropping and eavesdropping.
Being secretly photographed when you go out to stay is a terrible thing for everyone. Once personal privacy is leaked, it may be widely spread through the Internet, and will be scrutinized by countless onlookers, which will have a significant impact on personal work and life. According to a previous report by the "Rule of Law Daily", clandestine photography has become a black industry chain, and some people obtain a large amount of illegal income by placing eavesdropping devices in homestays and hotels and selling clandestine videos. There are also former B&B owners who broke the news that the main way for individual B&B owners to make profits is not to rely on room fees, but to rely on the sale of candid videos and live broadcast fees.
Many people are worried that they may encounter a similar situation when staying in a hotel, so they have shared how to find bugs after checking into a hotel on social media and short video platforms. On online shopping platforms, some sellers of anti-eavesdropping devices said that sales of some devices have doubled in recent days.
The interviewed experts pointed out that to strictly prevent homestays and hotels from taking clandestine photos, we cannot rely on the customers themselves, and the operators have an unshirkable responsibility for this. Even if the operator is not aware of it, if it fails to fulfill its safety and security obligations and is at fault, it may be subject to civil liability. Operators should do a good job in the construction of relevant systems, take precautions from the source, strengthen inspections, prevent and reduce the phenomenon of clandestine photography, and make the public's accommodation more secure.
There is a camera hidden in the room of the homestay
Multiple parties bear legal responsibility
The aftermath of the "Shijiazhuang B&B camera incident" has not subsided, and another hotel has been exposed to have camera problems.
Recently, a couple said that when they checked into a hotel in Baotou City, Mongolia, they found that there was an abnormal situation at the air conditioning ventilation pipe, and after looking closer, they found that there was a round object inside, suspected to be a camera. They dialed 110 as soon as they contacted the hotel's front desk. The police came to the scene, confirmed that it was a camera, removed it and took it away for investigation.
"Once you've checked into your room, be sure to check if there are hidden cameras in the following places: the bottom of the TV, routers, sockets, desk lamps, telephones, shower heads, mirrors, etc. The inspection method is as follows: turn off all the lights in the room, take out your mobile phone and turn on the original camera to shoot, check if there is a small red dot, if there is a camera; Use mobile phone software with corresponding functions for detection; Purchase professional infrared equipment for testing. ”
The successive incidents of clandestine photography have caused many travelers to worry about the privacy and safety of their accommodation. For a while, a large number of posts and short videos similar to the above have emerged on the Internet to teach people how to stay in hotels to prevent being secretly taken. "Be sure to check these 4 places before staying", "Hotel anti-candid photography guide" and other related topics quickly appeared on social platforms and short video platforms. On online shopping platforms, some sellers who sell anti-eavesdropping devices said that sales of some devices have skyrocketed in recent days.
What rights are violated by installing cameras in the hotel to take candid photos? What kind of penalties will they face?
Zhao Dong, an associate professor at the Law School of Hebei University of Economics and Business, said that as long as the act of secretly filming video and audio has been completed, even if the secretly recorded or secretly filmed audio and video has not been leaked, the person directly responsible for the secretly filming and secretly recording has also violated the privacy and personality rights of passengers, and shall bear corresponding civil and administrative liability, and criminal liability if the circumstances are serious. Individuals and units that are providers of equipment for secretly photographing or recording may constitute the crime of illegally producing or selling special espionage equipment, eavesdropping, or photographic equipment as provided for in article 283 of the Criminal Law.
He further explained that if personal privacy is posted online or disseminated offline by the person who secretly took the photo, depending on the severity of the circumstances and the degree of harmful consequences caused, the person who took the photo may bear civil liability such as stopping the infringement, making a formal apology, compensating for losses, and compensation for moral damages, and may be subject to administrative penalties such as detention and fines, and in serious cases, it may constitute the crime of disseminating obscene materials, insulting or defamation. For online platforms, if they fail to fulfill this obligation, resulting in the disclosure or dissemination of user privacy, they will also bear corresponding legal liabilities.
The hotel inspection link is invisible
After-the-fact shirking management responsibilities
"A man was criminally detained for installing a candid camera in a hotel room", "A female tenant was found to have a candid camera in the house, and the landlord was criminally detained", "The police cut off a black and gray industry chain of secretly filming and buying and selling indecent videos in hotels"...... Judging from the police notices in many places, there have been many incidents of cameras found in homestays or hotel rooms.
The reason why the recent clandestine photography incident has attracted great attention is mainly because the hotel that should have guaranteed the safety of passengers has "hidden" in the pre-inspection process, and the post-event treatment is also difficult to explain, and there are greater "pain points":
After the blogger involved in the "Shijiazhuang B&B camera incident" called the police, he was besieged by the owners of the hotel and B&B, and the vehicle parked outside was deflated.
After the camera was found in a hotel in Baotou, the party wrote his experience in the hotel's comment area, but received a civil complaint. The relevant staff believed that the negative comments posted by netizens and the accompanying photos and videos infringed on their portrait rights and reputation rights, and demanded that the content be deleted, apologize, and compensate for the loss of 10,000 yuan.
In October 2023, a couple in Guangxi also reported that they had stayed at a hotel in Nanning a year ago, and then suddenly received an application from a stranger friend and sent multiple private videos of them, as well as ID numbers and mobile phone numbers. When the two went to the hotel again to negotiate, they found that the camera had not been removed, and the hotel said that it was also a victim.
Many netizens said, "Why do customers have to worry about improving the privacy and security of staying in hotels" and "It's really ironic to spend money on accommodation, but you have to check the camera with fear to prevent your privacy from being violated".
In this regard, the interviewed experts bluntly said: the customer's accommodation was secretly photographed, and the management responsibility of the hotel cannot be shirked.
Ji Guanhao, an associate professor at the Law School of Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, told reporters that regardless of whether the operator knew it in advance or not, he had to bear the corresponding legal responsibility for the voyeur camera in the guest room.
"If the operator of a B&B or hotel participates in the installation of clandestine photography equipment, or ignores the installation of clandestine photography equipment and still ignores it, he or she shall bear corresponding tort liability and even criminal liability. If the operator of the B&B or hotel is not aware of it in advance, the operator may still bear relevant civil liability for the voyeur camera in the guest room. As the provider of the accommodation service contract, the operator of the B&B or hotel has the duty of care to protect the personal and property safety of the customer and prevent the leakage of the customer's privacy. Ji Guanhao said that when customers find the camera and call the police, the operator should actively cooperate with the police investigation, provide relevant information and evidence, and assist in the investigation.
In reality, there are customers who have been compensated for similar encounters. In June this year, a man found a camera while taking a shower in a hotel in Sanya, and did not accept the hotel's "check-out fee only" treatment.
Some industry insiders said that the phenomenon of clandestine photography in B&Bs and hotels is frequent, and the harm cannot be underestimated. On the one hand, it seriously violates citizens' rights to privacy and other rights; On the other hand, it will also hurt the image of the city, affect the development of the local cultural and tourism industry, and even affect the healthy development of the entire homestay industry.
The hotel shall be obliged
Establish a system to protect privacy
The experts interviewed believe that the operators and managers of both B&Bs and hotels should realize that they cannot always expect customers to find problems and defend their rights. Hoteliers should actively assume their obligations to prevent the occurrence of clandestine photography incidents.
The "Regulations on the Administration of Public Security in the Hotel Industry in Guangdong Province (Draft Revisions)" issued at the beginning of this year clearly states that hotels should organize regular inspections to ensure that no peeping, candid photography, eavesdropping and other equipment are installed in guest rooms.
On September 25, a homestay owner in Baoding, Hebei Province, posted a screenshot of the order to buy a camera detector, saying that all rooms had been checked for the first time, and each room was equipped with a camera detector, so that customers could live at ease, and took the initiative to contact customers who had already booked. In addition, some hotels have equipped cleaners and room managers with infrared detection equipment, which scans the room before guests check in, which has become a regular part of the daily service process of the guest room.
In order to effectively crack down on clandestine photography, Zhao Dong suggested that hotel operators and managers should actively fulfill the obligations of pre-prevention, in-process detection and post-event reporting and processing:
First of all, staff training should be organized regularly to improve their skills and ability to identify clandestine recording equipment, understand the provisions of relevant laws and regulations, and the hotel should purchase and update testing equipment in a timely manner to improve the technical ability of detecting clandestine recording equipment. Strict screening of suppliers of various hotel facilities and signing a letter of commitment to control risks at the source;
Secondly, it is necessary to establish a long-term mechanism for regular inspection and monitoring, and the responsibility should be assigned to specific individuals to ensure that risk points are discovered and eliminated in a timely manner;
Finally, once the clandestine recording is discovered, it should immediately take measures to deal with it, notify the customer himself as soon as possible, report it to the public security organ, actively cooperate with the public security organ to investigate and deal with it, and draw inferences from one case to another, and take effective measures to prevent the recurrence of similar incidents.
The interviewed experts believe that in order to fundamentally eliminate the occurrence of illegal and criminal acts that infringe on citizens' personal privacy in public places such as hotels, it is ultimately necessary to establish relevant systems.
Ji Guanhao proposed that B&Bs, hotels and other places should establish and implement a regular safety inspection system, which includes the hotel's own daily regular inspection, such as hotel staff using professional testing equipment to conduct a comprehensive inspection of the room after the customer checks out and before check-in; It also includes random inspections by relevant regulatory departments, and at the same time, relevant operators strengthen cooperation and communication with relevant institutions and departments, report suspicious behaviors in a timely manner, participate in relevant safety training and meetings, and work together to cut off the black and gray industry chain of clandestine photography and recording.
"An emergency response mechanism should also be established to deal with clandestine photography incidents, and in the event of clandestine photography, the emergency response plan should be activated immediately, including reporting to the police, keeping all relevant records and surveillance videos, cooperating with the police investigation, and providing necessary assistance to affected customers. After an incident, B&Bs, hotels, etc. should conduct an internal review to identify the source of the clandestine filming device, assess the security breach, and improve security measures to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future. Ji Guanhao said.
In addition to the above-mentioned specific measures, internal industry supervision should also be strengthened, industry associations should be promoted to formulate standard industry self-discipline norms, and promote the self-discipline of the whole industry through industry evaluation and internal supervision. It is also necessary to use publicity and education means to enable the public to fully understand the technical means of clandestine recording and the harmful consequences that may be caused, and to enhance their awareness and ability to prevent it. Remind and inform passengers to pay attention to the protection of personal privacy by posting notices and warnings in hotels, homestays and other places, and broadcasting promotional videos.
"The main reason why pinhole cameras can be placed in hotels is because there are 'holes' to enter. Only when the hotel builds a solid protective net of safety management, can the problem of accommodation being secretly photographed be better solved, and the public can feel more secure. Ji Guanhao said.
Source: Rule of Law Daily
Editor: Liu Jieying
First trial: Deng Mannan
Second trial: Zhang Yi
Third trial: Li Xiongxu