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the ultimate punishment for those who take secret photos

failure to form an effective crime deterrent

recently, a secret photography incident at a b&b in huaqiang plaza, shijiazhuang, attracted attention. three suspects who installed pinhole cameras were detained.

in recent years, the hotel and b&b sectors have frequently been exposed as sites for “secret live broadcasts”. an investigation by china news weekly found that the exposed cases are just the tip of the iceberg for the entire black and gray industry of candid photography. on some pornographic websites, there is a special section for candid videos with a considerable amount of views, and the purchase threshold for committing crimes is shockingly low.

he yanzhe is the deputy director of the evaluation laboratory of the cyber ​​security center of the china electronics technology standardization institute, a unit directly under the ministry of industry and information technology. according to him, although candid camera equipment has undergone continuous optimization and upgrades since its birth, the underlying technical logic has not undergone fundamental changes. the manufacturing threshold is relatively low, posing challenges to technical prohibitions. in his view, an important part of anti-candid photography lies in self-examination by operators. “a good hotel or b&b should take the initiative to optimize its own management.”

a senior hotel industry practitioner told china news weekly that there are currently no clear regulations on self-inspection of hotels and b&bs, and many businesses are taking chances. “firstly, it will not appear in their own stores, and secondly, if it does, they will be held accountable. not on your own head.” some operators have even become part of the candid photography industry chain.

popular hidden shots

routers, smoke alarms, power strips, tissue boxes and even a screw hole... these standard items in the accommodation industry can all become hiding places for pinhole cameras.

without knowing it, the residents became the "heroines and heroines" in the video. hotels and b&bs have been turned into pornographic film sets, charging according to the level of stimulation.

on september 15, the short video blogger "shadows don't lie" said that after receiving reports from netizens, he went to an apartment room in huaqiang plaza, xinhua district, shijiazhuang that night to investigate and film hidden cameras in the b&b room. during the process, it was discovered that there were hidden cameras in two hotels and b&bs. subsequently, the police issued a notice saying that three suspects who installed pinhole cameras were detained for criminal detention.

coincidentally, on september 26, the police in baotou, inner mongolia reported the case of "a camera was found in a hotel room". the report stated that after receiving the alarm, the wanqing road police station of the qingshan district public security bureau promptly filed the case and organized the police to carry out visits, technical analysis, etc. work. currently, the case is under further investigation.

videos secretly recorded by criminals are usually disseminated on certain domestic and overseas online platforms, such as foreign social platforms telegram and x (twitter).

according to china news weekly’s observation, on the above-mentioned platforms, the threshold for retrieving candid videos is very low. taking telegram software as an example, private group chats involving candid photography in hotels and b&bs are usually divided into two categories: one is a free preview group, and the other is a paid membership group that provides full version videos and the membership price is even less than 100 yuan.

there are both recording and live streaming groups on the platform. there is a group chat claiming that 2w+ candid videos have been updated, and that the areas around the school and some couple-themed rooms are “very popular”.

a private group chat in telegram software

"i often remind my customers and friends that b&bs are the hardest-hit areas and may be scarier than imagined." zhang nan, who ran a b&b in beijing from 2018 to 2020, told china news weekly that some b&b owners themselves may also be secretly photographed a link in the black and gray industry chain.

according to zhang nan, the store she runs is located in a community where housing has just been handed over. there are many homestays in it, and she has met many colleagues in the industry.

"one time i was chatting with a colleague, and he suddenly lamented, how much money can i make by running a serious b&b? he told me that many people do this (install cameras), and they have already installed the things inside when they decorate the house."

the other party extended an "olive branch" to zhang nan and introduced two "cooperation" models. one is for the other party to install the camera in zhang nan's b&b and pay her yearly or monthly without her having to operate it; the other is to let zhang nan do it herself. install and run an account on the platform introduced by it.

"you can decorate the room very well, especially the love room or various instagram-style, cream-style decorations, etc., and then set the price very low to attract traffic at a low price." zhang nan said, and the other party also mentioned that the business after a period of time, a layman will be asked to take over. "if it is found out later, someone else will take the blame."

zhang nan said that he rejected the above suggestions. she also posted reminders in the room and checked every guest. "i bought two kinds of detectors (three to four hundred yuan), and my cleaning staff went into the house to record video inspections. if they found any, i would call the police directly. in this case, i would know that it was installed by the previous customer," she said.

technology is “difficult”

the public does not have no awareness of protection when it comes to cameras in the house. a travel blogger with more than 100,000 fans on xiaohongshu shared her method with china news weekly. for locations where cameras may be hidden, turn off the lights and take a picture with your mobile phone. the places with lenses will reflect red light.

he zhihui, who has 14 years of experience in anti-eavesdropping work, told china news weekly that there are currently three main ways to detect pinhole cameras: the first is through optics, such as the red light detection mentioned above. the advantage is that the equipment is cheap, but it requires it must be facing the pinhole lens and the room is dark enough; the second is through radio waves. most of the real-time transmission cameras will connect to the surrounding wifi. even the traffic card will generate radio waves, but normal radio waves nearby are easy to false alarm; in addition, through thermal imaging detection, it is relatively simple to get started and it is not easy to miss detection.

according to the qichacha app, 130 anti-candid camera-related patents have been applied for, including anti-candid camera detectors, anti-candid camera mobile phones, anti-candid camera hats, etc. however, for ordinary residents, it is not practical to master radio wave detection technology or carry a thermal imaging camera with them.

he zhihui mentioned that small camera equipment has been around for more than ten years. he yanzhe, deputy director of the evaluation laboratory of the cyber ​​security center of the china electronics technology standardization institute, analyzed that the underlying technical logic has not changed, but its performance is changing with each passing day. for example, the energy consumption ratio has dropped, making some cameras more and more hidden; the image quality has become clearer; from data card storage to real-time transmission, etc.

many merchants claim that the cameras they sell can achieve 4k image quality. in addition to selling finished products, they can also customize and modify them according to customer needs, with prices ranging from hundreds to thousands of yuan. "hotels use more micro ones. we will teach you how to install them and how to hide them when they arrive." a merchant told china news weekly.

china news weekly noted that although domestic shopping platforms, social software, etc. have increased self-testing and crackdowns in recent years, criminals will also circumvent supervision by changing keywords. among the transactions of candid camera equipment, many involve overseas chat software.

the crux is that the threshold for assembling a "pinhole camera" is not high. the china judgment documents network recorded two such cases. a criminal assembles watch-like eavesdropping and photo-stealing equipment at home by purchasing equipment parts from a local electronics market. there is also a criminal with a junior high school education who assembles it by himself. aromatherapy boxes, power banks, sockets and other small camera equipment with hidden cameras.

"because the technology cost is too low, it is difficult to control from the source." he yanzhe said.

in his opinion, people who secretly install cameras are mainly divided into two categories. the first category is the operators themselves. "unless it is an insider who commits the crime, the price-performance ratio of the hotel is too low. there are also some self-employed b&b owners who take risks"; the second category is tenants. as the technology becomes more mature, this proportion may increase.

currently, live streaming platforms in the candid photography industry often involve foreign cloud service vendors, which also makes subsequent tracing more difficult. he yanzhe said that in this case, it is more difficult to punish after the fact than to control beforehand.

should operatorsself-examination?

"many friends have asked whether ordinary hotels have higher risks or five-star hotels. in fact, in real comparison, the risks of couples and love hotels may be relatively higher, while the risks of other hotels and b&bs are similar." he zhihui said.

he lin, a senior hotel practitioner, told china news weekly that there is currently no clear set of self-examination regulations in the industry.

"some large chain brands will require the purchase of camera detectors. the room supervisor must bring the detector with him when he checks the rooms every day. in principle, camera problems can be avoided," helin said.

but herring said the explicit incorporation of self-examination into work processes has not become widespread. many merchants are taking chances. "first of all, it won't appear in their own stores, and secondly, if it does, they can't be held accountable."

in he zhihui's view, the considerations for hotels or b&bs may be multi-faceted. first, they are worried about increasing costs. secondly, if relevant testing is done, the problem will be more complicated if the camera is discovered in the future. thirdly, if the camera is tested in the room, sometimes it is seen by other residents, which can easily lead to misunderstandings.

china news weekly inquired about hotels or b&bs in many places on behalf of customers and received similarly similar responses. "we have purchased insurance. if a customer suffers losses such as being secretly photographed, there is a corresponding compensation process." a b&b owner in dujiangyan told china news weekly that the problem of secret photography and recording is a chronic problem in the industry, and they have arranged for room managers or supervise the work process of self-examination.

"after so many years in the industry, we basically know which locations are more likely to have hidden devices installed." but he admitted that the detection process is mainly done with the naked eye.

another b&b owner in beijing emphasized that he was operating a formal business. "i won't specifically check the equipment, but i think i definitely don't have it." he also said, "if you are not sure, you can also choose to stay in a hotel."

however, helin mentioned that many big-brand hotel chains have also exposed the discovery of cameras, "but the probability of occurrence is low, and as soon as brands appear, they immediately spend money to publicize the public opinion."

some b&b owners mentioned that the current process for new b&bs on some online platforms is mainly online, including uploading real estate certificate information, landlord id information, etc., and there are almost no offline processes. “there may also be a need for some rulemaking to make the industry more standardized.”

lian dayou, director of beijing jingben law firm, told china news weekly that hotels or b&bs should provide guests with a safe place to live, and safety includes not infringing on guests’ personality rights and privacy rights. once the above-mentioned rights of guests are infringed, hotel and b&b operators will also be liable for supplementary compensation.

in january 2024, the guangdong provincial department of justice issued the "guangdong provincial hotel industry public security management regulations (revised draft for comments)" to publicly solicit opinions from the public. among them, the review of the hotel's anti-candid photography regulations has triggered heated discussions. the opinion draft mentioned that hotels should organize regular inspections to ensure that no peeping, filming, eavesdropping or other equipment is installed in the guest rooms. hotels or their staff who violate the regulations will be punished in accordance with relevant laws and regulations.

"staying in hotels or b&bs is a necessity. secret photography is constantly being exposed, and privacy loopholes are gradually becoming known to consumers, which is forcing the development of the industry." he lin believes that the exposure of similar incidents will promote the b&b industry. and standardization of chain brands.

what matters is the timeliness of punishment

huang jie, a professor at the law school of hunan normal university and president of the procedural law research association of the hunan law society, told china news weekly that the act of secretly filming and recording mainly involves the protection of citizens’ personality rights, with the focus being on portraits in personality rights. protection of rights and protection of reputation rights and honor rights.

"our protection of rights (including personality rights) is divided into three levels from a legal perspective: first, protection in the sense of civil law; second, protection in the sense of administrative law; and finally, protection in the sense of criminal law." huang jie said .

from the perspective of civil liability, according to the provisions of the civil code, those who infringe on citizens' right to portrait and privacy should bear civil tort responsibilities such as stopping the infringement, removing obstacles, eliminating danger, eliminating impact, restoring reputation, and making an apology.

from the perspective of administrative responsibilities, according to the provisions of the "public security administration punishment law", anyone who peeps, secretly photographs, eavesdrops, or spreads other people's privacy shall be detained for not more than five days or fined not more than 500 yuan; if the circumstances are more serious, he shall be sentenced to not less than five days and not less than ten days. the following persons may be detained and fined not more than 500 yuan.

from the perspective of criminal liability, according to the relevant provisions of the criminal law, candid photography may be suspected of illegal use of special equipment for eavesdropping and photographing, making, copying, publishing, selling, and disseminating obscene materials for profit, and disseminating obscene materials. among them, the crime of "illegal use of special equipment for eavesdropping and photograph stealing" shall be punished by fixed-term imprisonment of not more than 2 years, criminal detention or surveillance. in the shijiazhuang b&b incident, three suspects were criminally detained on suspicion of illegal use of special equipment for eavesdropping and photographing.

the china judgment documents network disclosed a five-year-old criminal case of secretly filming. from 2014 to april 2019, the defendant liu moumou purchased a mouse and a power strip with a pinhole camera online, and installed them in a hotel room in erdao district, changchun city to secretly take videos of guests staying in the hotel. after investigation, liu moumou had more than 75,000 candid videos and more than 6,900 valid videos. he was sentenced to one year in prison for illegally using special equipment for eavesdropping and photographing.

"currently, the behavior of secret photography is getting more and more intense, especially when people take advantage of emerging high-tech networks and financial means to deeply hide their secret photography and profit-making behaviors. if we do not crack down on the behavior of secret photography, we will not only be able to pursue profits but not under the circumstances of being held accountable, it is inevitable that more and more people will get involved," lian dayou analyzed to china news weekly.

in huang jie's view, the prevention and treatment of illegal activities such as secret photography and secret recording does not depend on the severity of the punishment. what is important is the timeliness of the punishment and the strict ratio of law enforcement that must be punished for violations. as law enforcement becomes stricter, the incidence of illegal activities will decrease.

from may to august 2021, the cyberspace administration of china, together with the ministry of industry and information technology, the ministry of public security, and the state administration for market regulation, carried out a nationwide centralized management of illegal camera peeping, cleaning up more than 22,000 pieces of harmful information, and disposing of more than 4,000 accounts. the public security agencies 59 criminal suspects were arrested, more than 25,000 illegally controlled network cameras were seized, and more than 1,500 sets of eavesdropping and photographing equipment were confiscated.

“from the perspective of government departments, we should intensify the crackdown on secretly photographed black and gray products, and even carry out special operations to further deter criminals; for hotels and b&bs, we should actively promote self-inspections and self-inspections, and industry associations can also organize self-inspections. check." he yanzhe said.

lian dayou believes that the final punishment for those who took secret photos did not reach the level of deterring crime. this is a comprehensive social issue, involving many factors such as the degree of perfection of laws and regulations, the intensity and efficiency of law enforcement, and the awareness and methods of victims' rights protection.

when reporting the case of "a camera found in a hotel room", the police in baotou, inner mongolia stated that they would continue to increase their efforts to investigate potential safety hazards in the hotel industry and resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of the people. the police also mentioned that they called on the general public to actively report such illegal and criminal activities.

(zhang nan and he lin are pseudonyms in the article)

author: chen weijing