Posted by EditorDavid from the spy-where dept.
2017 Slashdot headline: “People Keep Finding Hidden Cameras in Their Airbnbs.”
Nearly seven years later, CNN launched their own investigation of “Airbnb’s hidden camera problem“. CNN: “Across North America, police have seized thousands of images from hidden cameras at Airbnb rentals, including people’s most intimate moments… It’s more than just a few reported cases. And Airbnb knows it’s a problem. In this deposition reviewed by CNN, an Airbnb rep said 35,000 customer support tickets about security cameras or recording devices had been documented over a decade. [The deposition estimates “about” 35,000 tickets “within the scope of the security camera and recording devices policy.”]
Airbnb told CNN a single complaint can involve multiple tickets.
CNN actually obtained the audio recording of an Airbnb host in Maine admitting to police that he’d photographed a couple having sex using a camera hidden in a clock — and also photographed other couples. And one Airbnb guest told CNN he’d only learned he’d been recorded “because police called him, months later, after another guest found the camera” — with police discovering cameras in every single room in the house, concealed inside smoke detectors. “Part of the challenge is that the technology has gotten so advanced, with these cameras so small that you can’t even see them,” CNN says.
But even though recording someone without consent is illegal in every state, CNN also found that in this case and others, Airbnb “does not contact law enforcement once hidden cameras are discovered — even if children are involved.” Their reporter argues that Airbnb “not only fails to protect its guests — it works to keep complaints out of the courts and away from the public.”
They spoke to two Florida attorneys who said trying to sue Airbnb if something goes wrong is extremely difficult — since its Terms of Service require users to assume every risk themselves. “The person going to rent the property agrees that if something happens while they’re staying at this accommodation, they’re actually prohibited from suing Airbnb,” says one of the attorneys. “They must go a different route, which is a binding arbitration.” (When CNN asked if this was about controlling publicity, the two lawyers answered “absolutely” and “100%”.) And when claims are settled, CNN adds, “Airbnb has required guests to sign confidentiality agreements — which CNN obtained — that keep some details of legal cases private.”
Responding to the story, Airbnb seemed to acknowledge guests have been secretly recorded by hosts, by calling such occurrences “exceptionally rare… When we do receive an allegation, we take appropriate, swift action, which can include removing hosts and listings that violate the policy.
“Airbnb’s trust and safety policies lead the vacation rental industry…”
For every bloke who makes his mark, there’s half a dozen waiting to rub it out. — Andy Capp
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