news

this article is reproduced from [procuratorial daily justice network];

does the "anti-lost" locator have an eavesdropping function? following reports from citizens, the public security organs arrested the online store owner li and discovered that the supplier of this cartoon-shaped silicone pendant was actually a stay-at-home mother who ran an online store at home. due to poor business in the online store, lin researched, disassembled and packaged the gps locator with recording function into cartoon pendants for sale at home. however, selling this kind of locator with eavesdropping function has already touched the legal red line...

recently, the fengxian district procuratorate of shanghai launched a public prosecution against this case of illegal production and sales of special eavesdropping equipment.

the "anti-lost" locator actually "can eavesdrop"?

in february 2024, the police received clues from citizens that locators sold by online stores had eavesdropping functions and may be illegal. on february 28, the shanghai public security bureau arrested li, the owner of an online store, in anhui province.

online store order screenshots and product pictures

after investigation, at the end of 2022, li returned to his hometown after finishing his job and opened an online store, mainly selling small-looking silicone pendant gps locators. since this type of locator is mostly bought by customers to be worn by the elderly or children at home, online store sellers position its main purpose as "preventing loss".

a customer consulted li about product features

as buyers gradually inquired about whether the product could be recorded, li discovered new "business opportunities."

"the recording function is a selling point, and it's easy to make money." thinking of this, li began to search for purchase channels on the entire internet to contact for cooperation.

at the end of november 2023, he found the supplier lin. "each pendant has its corresponding account and password. after downloading the app, you can check the gps signal location of the pendant. some can also remotely enable recording, remote alarm, real-time calls and other functions." after negotiation, li directly put the product link on the shelf to in his own online store, lin will deliver the goods directly after receiving the order, and he is responsible for after-sales service.

with this consignment sales model, li sold more than 120 pieces of the pendant, making a profit of more than 6,000 yuan.

research, dismantle...

stay-at-home mom puts gps locator

packed into cartoon pendants

on february 29, 2024, lin, li’s upstream supplier, voluntarily surrendered.

according to lin's confession, he usually takes care of his children full-time at home. because the online store he originally ran was not doing well, he wanted to "change the track." she accidentally saw a gps locator with recording function being sold online, and found that the sales were very good, so she bought one and took it home to study.

dismantling and identification reports of seized samples

after dismantling it, lin found that its structure was not complicated, so he purchased electronic boards, batteries, keychain holsters and other parts with gps and recording functions. after simple welding, he assembled it into a gps cartoon pendant, packed it and put it on the shelves. .

production parts seized by the public security organs somewhere in lin

after investigation, from 2023 to february 2024, lin purchased electronic boards, cartoon pendant casings and other materials online, illegally assembled and produced more than 200 pendant-type recording equipment, and sold more than 90 units on online platforms.

during this period, online store owners li and xie saw that lin's online store had goods, so they approached her to cooperate, and successively reached consignment sales agreements with lin to earn the price difference. the two sold more than 120 units and more than 10 units respectively in their respective online stores.

everyone else is selling,

can i “join with confidence”?

on may 17, 2024, the case was transferred to the fengxian district procuratorate for review and prosecution. after a comprehensive review of the files and questioning of witnesses, prosecutors believe that the recording gps device produced and sold by lin and others has a similar appearance and overlapping functions with the cartoon pendants in daily life, but its attached remote eavesdropping and recording function is extremely concealed and confusing. sex. after identification, the equipment seized in the case all met the identification standards of "special eavesdropping equipment."

"others are selling it, so i feel it should be no problem. when i was looking for sources of electronic board accessories, i also asked the manufacturer if individual online merchants could sell it. the other party said it was no problem, everyone was selling it." lin said, "the sales volume is so well, the market demand is great and assembly is not difficult, so i will do it myself.”

“at that time, i saw others selling this kind of gps locator with recording function, so i thought about buying it for research. i didn’t expect the internal structure to be so simple... when i was looking for sources of electronic board accessories, i also asked the manufacturer. can the online merchant sell it? the other party said it’s no problem, everyone is selling it.” faced with the prosecutor’s interrogation, lin, a stay-at-home mother, was very upset, “if i had known it was illegal, i wouldn’t have made this money!”

the fengxian district procuratorate concluded that the criminal suspect lin was not qualified to produce eavesdropping equipment. he purchased accessories and assembled them privately for profit. he produced more than 200 eavesdropping equipment in total and sold them through online platforms for profit. his behavior constituted illegal production and the crime of selling special equipment for eavesdropping; the criminal suspects li and xie received orders from lin to resell special equipment for eavesdropping. their behavior has constituted the crime of illegally selling special equipment for eavesdropping. they should be investigated for criminal responsibility in accordance with the law and the three of them should be prosecuted in accordance with the law. public prosecution.

it is reported that relevant clues such as the manufacturer and other sellers of the recording electronic board used in lin’s homemade eavesdropping equipment have been handed over to the public security organs for further investigation.

prosecutors' legal education

1. what kind of equipment counts as eavesdropping equipment? what are the criteria for identifying the "special eavesdropping equipment" involved in this case?

according to article 3 of the "regulations on prohibiting the illegal production, sales and use of special equipment for eavesdropping and photographing and "pseudo base station" equipment" jointly promulgated by the state administration for industry and commerce, the ministry of public security, and the state administration of quality supervision, inspection and quarantine, the so-called special equipment for eavesdropping in these regulations , refers to the use in a disguised or concealed manner, and the public security organs make a conclusive conclusion after conducting technical inspections in accordance with the law, and one of the following circumstances occurs:

(1) transmitting and receiving equipment with the function of wireless transmitting and receiving voice signals;

(2) micro voice signal pickup or recording equipment;

(3) electronic receiving equipment capable of obtaining wireless communication information;

(4) equipment that uses overlapping, induction, etc. methods to obtain communication line information;

(5) equipment that uses solid sound transmission, optical fiber, microwave, laser, infrared and other technologies to obtain voice information;

(6) equipment (including software) that can remotely control the voice receiving device or the voice receiving function in electronic equipment to obtain relevant voice information without obvious prompts;

(7) other equipment with eavesdropping functions.

2. what is the difference between eavesdropping equipment and toys and pendants with recording functions?

in this case, the equipment produced and sold by lin and others is similar in appearance to cartoon pendants in daily life, has some overlapping functions, and has a certain degree of camouflage, concealment, and deception. these locator pendants with gps signals can not only obtain the precise location information of the carrier, but can also remotely start recording using mobile phone software, and can be remotely controlled by others in a disguised or concealed manner without permission.

special equipment for eavesdropping and photographing has the characteristics of concealment, functionality and technical inspection. toys and ornaments with recording functions, where "with recording function" means functional; "toys and ornaments" means "concealed" and difficult to be discovered by ordinary people in daily life; as long as it is passed by the public security organs in accordance with the law if the inspection determines that it has technical inspection properties, it is a special eavesdropping device in the sense of criminal law.

3. what are the legal risks involved in purchasing and using such equipment?

purchasing and using such equipment without permission may constitute civil infringement, administrative violation, or in serious cases, criminal offenses. according to the "regulations on prohibiting the illegal production, sales and use of special equipment for eavesdropping and photographing and "pseudo base station" equipment, natural persons, legal persons and other organizations are prohibited from illegally producing, selling, and using special equipment for eavesdropping and photographing and "pseudo base station" equipment.

if you use eavesdropping equipment to track other people's privacy and cause serious consequences, it violates the criminal law and is suspected of illegally using special equipment for eavesdropping and photographing.

author: wang shiya and sun xiaoguang