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hu qian, trainee reporter of cover news

on september 24, cover news reported that a blogger claimed to have found multiple hidden cameras in several b&bs in xinhua district, shijiazhuang city, and was surrounded, insulted, pushed and beaten by the b&b owners and others. that night, the xinhua branch of the shijiazhuang public security bureau issued a police report stating that on september 24, all suspects suspected of illegally using special equipment for eavesdropping and stealing photos had been arrested and criminal compulsory measures had been taken in accordance with the law. after interrogation, it was found that the three people did not know the b&b owners.

lawyer xu hanlin told the cover news reporter that in incidents of hidden cameras in hotels and homestays, hotel and homestay businesses must fulfill their security obligations and actively carry out detection and prevention. they should not think that the hidden cameras have nothing to do with the businesses and therefore hide them.she said that most homestay and hotel industries have long lacked an effective regulatory mechanism, and those who have been secretly photographed have difficulties in protecting their rights, resulting in the problem of hidden cameras persisting despite repeated bans.

who should be responsible for the hidden cameras in hotels and b&bs?

xu hanlin, a lawyer at sichuan mingju law firm and a special mediator of the people's court, told cover news that the suspects arrested by the shijiazhuang police need to bear administrative, civil and criminal responsibilities. the report stated that the three people were suspected of illegally using special equipment for eavesdropping and stealing photos. the lawyer said that if the circumstances are serious, the suspects may face fixed-term imprisonment, detention or control of less than two years. if the secretly filmed content involves the dissemination of obscene materials, it may constitute the crime of disseminating obscene materials. if the suspects also sell or provide the secretly filmed content to others, if the circumstances are serious, they will be held criminally responsible for the crime of infringing citizens' personal information.

lawyer xu hanlin said that if a hidden camera is found in a hotel or b&b, and the owner knows about it and still allows it, he needs to bear administrative and criminal responsibility; even if he is unaware, he has failed to fulfill his security obligations, or he is at fault for failing to discover and stop such behavior in time, and needs to bear corresponding civil liability. she believes that in the case of hidden cameras in hotels and b&bs, businesses should not hide themselves, but should actively carry out detection and prevention.

lawyer xu hanlin said that not only the camera installers and the hotel, but also the viewing group may face civil liability for infringing on the privacy of others, but it is more difficult to identify the infringer and obtain evidence. however, if the spectators spread the secretly recorded private videos, it will be illegal like the secretly recorded ones, and they will face fines and detention. if the disseminated video contains obscene and pornographic content and reaches a certain amount of dissemination, the disseminator will be suspected of the crime of disseminating obscene materials and may be imprisoned. in addition, like the secretly recorded ones, the disseminators also face corresponding criminal liability risks in infringing citizens' personal information.

if you find yourself being secretly photographed, how can you protect your rights?

in the face of secretly filmed videos taken in hotels and b&bs, lawyer xu hanlin said that the victims face difficulties in protecting their rights. from a legal perspective, the victims can ask the viewers to stop the infringement, eliminate the impact, restore their reputation, apologize, and compensate for mental damages. however, such cases are rare in practice, and there are practical difficulties in providing evidence. it is difficult to collect and preserve evidence such as the identity of the viewer and the viewing behavior.

lawyer xu hanlin told cover news that if you find a hidden camera when staying in a hotel or b&b, there are three main things that ordinary people can do:the first is to collect evidence.try to take photos or videos of the camera with your phone without touching any physical evidence, and record its location and identification features. also, record the exact time the camera was discovered, room number, and other information;the second is to notify the hotel or b&b management,explain the situation to avoid misunderstandings with the store, and ask them to handle the situation, while being careful not to contaminate the evidence;third, call the police immediately.the police will investigate, seize relevant equipment, and track down those responsible.

in the shijiazhuang hidden camera incident, blogger "shadow will not lie" told cover news that after the hotel or b&b involved detected the camera, they recorded the entire process to avoid possible risks and quickly called the police without touching the camera. lawyer xu hanlin believes that with legal authorization, the blogger's filming does not pose any legal risk, but he may be threatened with violence from the hotel or b&b, and his personal safety is at risk.

why are hidden cameras still used despite repeated bans?

hidden cameras in hotels and guesthouses have always been a problem that the public is concerned about but cannot be stopped despite repeated bans. lawyer xu hanlin said that the cost of violating the law with hidden cameras is too low, while the judicial cost of pursuing responsibility is too high, which creates a dilemma in pursuing legal responsibility.on the one hand, the regulatory responsibility for hidden cameras is unclear.as b&bs and hotels are frequent locations for voyeuristic photography, their operators’ security obligations are mainly to bear civil liability. the high cost and long time of holding them accountable has led to a long-term lack of an effective regulatory mechanism in the b&b and hotel industries.

on the other hand, it is difficult to collect evidence against hidden cameras.the separation of humans and machines in voyeuristic filming makes it difficult to track down the specific installer. voyeuristic filming involves multiple links such as production, sales, use, and dissemination, forming a complete industrial chain. the police have limited human and technical resources. faced with a wide range of regulatory targets, it is difficult to achieve comprehensive coverage, and it is impossible to invest too much investigative resources in ordinary voyeuristic filming public security cases. at the same time, for voyeuristic filming and recording, most cases can only be decided by public security penalties, the punishment is insufficient, and the cost of breaking the law is low.

under the threat of hidden cameras, many consumers tend to choose high-end chain hotels rather than low-priced individual b&bs. lawyer xu hanlin reminded that when it comes to preventing hidden cameras, there is no difference between hotels and b&bs in their obligations to protect customer privacy. it mainly depends on the degree of attention and execution capabilities of hotels and b&bs. generally speaking, small b&bs may not be as good as large hotels in preventive measures due to cost and resource constraints. for b&b hotels, it is necessary to strengthen supervision and gradually establish corresponding prevention mechanisms and management systems.