Inside China's Spy-Cam Porn Industry: A Personal Account
One night in 2023, Eric was scrolling on a social media channel he regularly browsed for porn. Seconds into a video, he froze. He realized the couple he was watching - entering the room, setting down their bags, and later, having sex - was himself and his girlfriend Emily. Three weeks earlier, they had spent the night in a hotel in Shenzhen, southern China, unaware that they were not alone.
Their most intimate moments had been captured by a hidden camera in their hotel room, and the footage made available to thousands of strangers who had logged in to the channel Eric himself used to access pornography.
Eric (not his real name) was no longer just a consumer of China's spy-cam porn industry, but a victim. The issue has become a regular talking point on social media, with people - particularly women - swapping tips on how to spot cameras as small as a pencil eraser.
Despite new government regulations requiring hotel owners to check for hidden cameras, the threat of being secretly filmed continues to haunt travelers. The BBC World Service found thousands of recent spy-cam videos filmed in hotel rooms and sold as porn, available on multiple sites.
During a comprehensive 18-month investigation, BBC reporters traced the operations of several agents behind this disturbing marketplace, revealing that numerous videos circulated on popular messaging platforms like Telegram, showcasing unsuspecting guests.
Eric, once fascinated by voyeuristic content, found himself traumatized after seeing the footage of himself and Emily. The couple grappled with distress and communication breakdown upon learning about their exploitation.
Organizations like RainLily in Hong Kong work tirelessly to assist victims in removing unwanted explicit content from the internet, but face challenges as tech companies are often unresponsive to requests for removal.
The story of spy-cam porn in China raises significant questions about individual privacy, consent, and the moral responsibilities of tech companies in moderating harmful content on their platforms.
