Take multiple measures and resolutely cut off the black industry chain of sneak photography
Illegal camera sneak photography is rampant, experts appeal
□ Our reporter Xu Wei
□ The reporter's trainee reporter Liu Xin
Turn off the light, close the curtains, turn on the camera of the mobile phone and take pictures of the room to see if there are red dots; if a suspicious hole is found, shine a bright flashlight into the hole to see if it reflects light: Turn on the wireless of the mobile phone to see if there is suspiciousness nearby Wireless network... Do these methods sound familiar?
Have you checked whether there is a camera in the room in the same way when you are staying at the hotel?
In recent years, there have been more and more acts of illegally installing cameras for sneak shots. From the sale of hidden cameras and video surveillance accounts to the sale of hidden videos, a black industry chain has been formed. The spread and sale of hidden videos on the Internet has brought great impact to the victims. Great mental damage caused public anxiety and caused public psychological panic.
In an interview with a reporter from the Rule of Law Daily, a number of legal experts suggested that the illegal cost of secret photography should be increased, and punishment should be increased to effectively deter secret photography.
The monitoring account is clearly marked for sale
In the search for people/group interface of the chat software, the reporter entered keywords such as "camera" and "monitoring", and found many related groups whose names contained words such as "camera sharing", "mini HD surveillance", and "video family hotel camera". Many group chat members are highly active.
Reporters randomly applied to join some groups, and most administrators refused to join directly.
Some group administrators reply to buy resources and add other accounts in the reason for refusal, and some directly send pictures or emoticons containing the quotation of the monitoring account (usually called id by the seller) through a temporary conversation.
"388, 20 ids, family" "588, 4 ids, love hotel"...... The seller's quotation shows that there are a variety of "packages" to choose from, the price ranges from 98 yuan to 588 yuan, some sellers take the initiative Inform the buyer that it includes not only hotel rooms, but also monitoring accounts for student dormitories or toilets.
When the reporter asked how to verify the authenticity, some sellers did not reply. Some sellers said that they could pay a 20 yuan deposit to try it out. Some sellers asked the reporter if they have software, and then the other party sent an installation package, saying that they could provide a real-time monitoring account for free. try out.
In order to verify the authenticity, the reporter installed the software and entered the information provided by the other party. After that, he could indeed see the real-time pictures of several surveillances. At the same time, he could also take snapshots or video recordings, and even watch the replays, and one of the surveillances was facing the implantation bed. .
"Are there any edited surveillance videos for sale?" When asked by reporters, a seller said no, and then said that there are many related websites...
Candid camera equipment can be easily obtained
Hidden in the dark to secretly photograph the surveillance of privacy, the account is shocked by such blatant transactions, and the number of hidden secretly photographed videos is even more chilling. Where do these cameras come from?
The reporter searched and found that on some e-commerce platforms, entering keywords such as "micro surveillance" and "camera stealth" can pop up a lot of related products. One of them has a monthly sales volume of more than 8000, and these surveillance advertisements have focused on "small". And "concealment".
Xie Hongfei, a researcher at the Institute of Law of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that at present, there is no separate legislation for the sale of ordinary civilian micro-monitoring. It seems that there are obstacles to prosecuting the sellers for illegally selling such equipment, because these equipment can also be used to photograph civil disputes. evidence.
However, if the business uses ambiguous words to promote the sneak shot equipment, such as "installed in the bathroom, hotel", etc., it may violate the advertising law, e-commerce law and other laws.
The reporter added the WeChat accounts of several surveillance equipment sellers and found that most of the sellers have posted various hidden camera product introductions in WeChat Moments, such as lighters, tissue boxes, air fresheners, etc. The appearance of these products is no different from ordinary products. They are different, but they have all been remodeled, and cameras are installed inside.
In the introduction of a socket, the seller stated that it can accept customization of various styles and colors, and can be made into the hole without hindering the use of the socket.
Offline, there are also shopkeepers selling similar candid photographing equipment. Although the selling method is more concealed, they can still be bought.
Article 2 of the "Provisions on Prohibiting the Illegal Production and Sale of Special Equipment for Eavesdropping and Photography and "Pseudo Base Station" Equipment" (hereinafter referred to as the "Regulations") officially implemented in January 2015 prohibits the illegal production and sales of natural persons, legal persons and other organizations , Use special equipment for eavesdropping and eavesdropping and "pseudo base station" equipment.
Regarding the special equipment for stealing photos, the "Regulations" have made a detailed description, including miniature pinhole camera devices and photography and video equipment that use miniature pinhole cameras.
Article 283 of the Criminal Law stipulates that anyone who illegally produces or sells special espionage equipment or special equipment for wiretapping or photo stealing shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years, criminal detention, or surveillance, and a fine or a fine; if the circumstances are serious, the punishment shall be three to seven years. The following fixed-term imprisonment and fines.
Liu Quan, executive director of the Research Center for Digital Economy and the Rule of Law of the Central University of Finance and Economics, told reporters that sellers illegally selling related equipment, which has a bad influence, may constitute the crime of illegally selling special equipment for wiretapping and photo theft, and need to bear criminal responsibility.
Increasing the cost of illegality to deter
From the sale of secretly filmed equipment and video surveillance accounts to the sale of secretly filmed videos, there are people responsible for the operation of each link. What legal responsibilities will be borne when these actions are implemented?
Xie Hongfei said that the acts of secretly photographing, disseminating, and selling videos violated many provisions of the Civil Code. These acts violated the victim’s right of portrait or privacy, and may even infringe on the right of reputation. They constitute the fault tort under Article 1165 of the Civil Code. People should pay compensation in accordance with the provisions of the Tort Liability and Personality Rights of the Civil Code; secondly, this behavior also violates Article 42 of the Public Security Administration Punishment Law, and the perpetrator may bear administrative responsibilities such as criminal detention and fines; finally, infringement of the victim’s personal information If the circumstances are serious, it may violate Article 253 of the Criminal Law and be sentenced to a fixed-term imprisonment of not more than 7 years and a fine.
And if the secretly photographed content involves sexual behavior and is disseminated or sold, if the circumstances are serious, it is suspected of constituting the crime of spreading obscene materials or the crime of spreading obscene materials for profit.
Liu Junhai, a professor at the School of Law of Renmin University of China, emphasized that from the perspective of tort liability, the tort liability of the Civil Code stipulates the infringer’s liability for damages to the victim. If secretly filmed or hawked videos cause serious mental damage to the victim, The victim can also claim compensation for mental damage.
Liu Quan said that if sneak shots are taken in hotel guest rooms and other places, the hotel manager is at fault and has not fulfilled the necessary security obligations and should bear the corresponding civil liabilities.
In practice, after such infringements occur, it is often difficult for victims to defend their rights.
Liu Junhai said that on the one hand, it is difficult to find out the true identity of the perpetrator, and on the other hand, the cost of safeguarding rights is too high.
Xie Hongfei told reporters that in order to fundamentally curb this serious violation of personal rights, it is necessary to impose punitive compensation on the perpetrator.
However, because punitive damages must be provided by law, and the Civil Code does not provide for punitive damages for such acts, it is necessary to strengthen its public law responsibility.
"We must adopt a zero-tolerance attitude towards this kind of sneak shots, and resolutely not allow infringers to make illegal profits from it." Liu Junhai believes that full compensation should be paid to the unrighteous gains made by people engaged in illegal activities such as sneak shots, dissemination, and sale of videos. victim.
To cut off the black industrial chain of candid photography requires multiple measures. Liu Quan believes that hotels should take necessary measures to fully fulfill their security guarantee obligations to ensure the safety of personal information to the greatest extent; different departments such as market supervision and management departments, industry and information departments, cybersecurity and informatization departments, and public security agencies should conduct effective data open sharing and strengthen collaboration Cooperate to supervise all links of the black industry chain for sneak shots; make full use of artificial intelligence and big data technology to improve the effectiveness of supervision; individuals should increase their awareness of prevention, and carefully observe the items and facilities in the room when staying. And inspection; the legislative process of laws such as the Personal Information Protection Law and the Data Security Law should be accelerated.