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Family Finds Hidden Camera in Airbnb's Smoke Alarm

posted by Fnord666 on Sunday April 14 2019, @07:36PM   Printer-friendly
from the big-issue dept.

realDonaldTrump writes:

family-finds-hidden-camera-in-airbnb-smoke-alarm

A New Zealand family was shocked to find a camera hidden in the smoke alarm of their Airbnb during a vacation in Ireland, which the father of the clan discovered as he was connecting his cell phone to the Wi-Fi.

[...] "He scanned that device's ports and found the live video feed. We were all watching ourselves on his mobile phone," Barker said of the horrifying find. The camera offered a view of the living room, dining and kitchen area.

Related:
How to Scan Your Airbnb for Hidden Cameras
Should we be searching for hidden spy cameras in Airbnbs and hotels?

[This seems to be an ongoing issue for Airbnb. Have other Soylentils used the platform, and if so have you found hidden monitoring devices? - Ed]

Original Submission

 
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  • (Score: 2) by sjames on Sunday April 14 2019, @09:54PM (5 children)

    by sjames (2882) on Sunday April 14 2019, @09:54PM (#829494) Journal

    Read more carefully:

    “In the U.S., there is no hotel or management company of hotels that would ever subject themselves to the massive liabilities of putting surveillance cameras in an actual hotel room,” said Todd Morris, founder and CEO of BrickHouse Security, which develops and sells security devices, like hidden cameras and alarms.

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  • (Score: 2) by MostCynical on Sunday April 14 2019, @10:02PM (4 children)

    by MostCynical (2589) on Sunday April 14 2019, @10:02PM (#829498) Journal

    And the next paragraph

    Cameras can usually be found in common and shared areas in hotels — like lobbies, hallways and pool areas. The American Hotel and Lodging Association, which represents 80% of all franchise hotels, said security protocols in place at hotels call for the use of security cameras in public areas.

    Definitions/semantics:
    "Public areas"

    --
    "I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex

    • (Score: 2) by sjames on Sunday April 14 2019, @10:24PM

      by sjames (2882) on Sunday April 14 2019, @10:24PM (#829504) Journal

      There's not much of a semantic problem there. The part you rent has no cameras. The part that you're not renting should have none (and if there are any, it's a huge liability for the owner).

    • (Score: 2, Disagree) by sjames on Sunday April 14 2019, @11:54PM (2 children)

      by sjames (2882) on Sunday April 14 2019, @11:54PM (#829536) Journal

      Some text got lost there! The part that you're renting should have no cameras, if it does it's a huge liability for the owner. The parts your not renting may have cameras, but should have signs posted saying so.

      • (Score: 3, Insightful) by Runaway1956 on Monday April 15 2019, @04:24AM (1 child)

        by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Monday April 15 2019, @04:24AM (#829635) Journal

        I think I agree with you. Ethics say that the rented portions of a property should be considered private. But, legally? Some owners may accept the potential liability. And, some of those owners may well win in court.

        As a property owner, it would be "best practice" to disclose within the contract that you do monitor your property. Then mount a "throwaway" camera for the tenants to find. Then, mount a backup camera with good encryption to monitor pretty much the same thing that the "throwaway" would have monitored. Again, "best practice" would dictate that you do not monitor bedrooms and baths, or, if you have a pool, you do not monitor changing rooms. Anyplace that people are expected to be disrobed is strictly off limits. Everything else is fair game, so long as you disclose that you do monitor your property.

        Ethics satisfied, I think.

        • (Score: 2) by sjames on Monday April 15 2019, @07:53AM

          by sjames (2882) on Monday April 15 2019, @07:53AM (#829729) Journal

          Some may risk the liability, but all it would take is one young person walking nude through the living room to make the criminal liability HUGE unless there was clear and complete disclosure. That's an awfully big liability to leave to a judge and jury making a reasonable expectation determination.

          Of course, by the same token, I would not reserve any place that had cameras within the rented space.