A Hong Kong couple checked into a hotel in Shenzhen. Three weeks later, one night, the boyfriend was browsing adult content on a social channel when he discovered that they had become the “stars” of a film.
Eric was stunned: the couple in the video who walked into the room, placed their luggage down, and then were intimate — were actually him and his girlfriend.
Previously, there have been frequent reports of hidden camera spying incidents in hotels in China. Although China announced a crackdown last year, the results seem to be ineffective. The BBC reported on the 6th that hidden camera spying in hotels still persists, with videos continuing to be sold for profit on the dark web.
The BBC wrote about its investigative documentary “The Hidden Lens.” According to the report, all of Eric and his girlfriend’s private moments were recorded in full by a hidden camera in their hotel room and then uploaded online for thousands of strangers who logged in to watch, with Eric himself being a user of that adult channel.
The report said, “Eric is no longer simply a consumer in China’s hidden camera porn industry, but has also become a victim.”
In his 30s, Eric said he began watching hidden camera videos as a teenager, because he felt they were more “realistic” than traditional porn, which he found too “artificial.” However, after discovering that he and his girlfriend Emily (pseudonym) had been recorded and become part of this content supply chain, such content no longer gave him any pleasure. They are now very afraid that the video may have been seen by colleagues or family members.
The BBC pointed out that although producing and distributing pornographic content is illegal in China, this kind of “hidden camera porn” has existed in China for at least ten years.
In the past year or two, this problem has been increasingly discussed on Chinese social media, with many people, especially women, sharing tips on how to spot cameras as small as pencil erasers. Some even set up tents inside hotel rooms to sleep, to avoid being filmed.