Reporting Items Advice

RHemmings

After watching Conor Woodman's 'Scam City' videos on YouTube, I looked up hidden cameras on Ebay.

I was disappointed to see that many of the secret camera listings appear to encourage creepy and illegal activity by showing prominent pictures of women getting changed, women in the shower, couples having sex, etc. 

What is the best way to address these. Just through the 'Report This Item' link, which I'm not convinced is effective given past experience, or is there a better way? 

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

From searching for "secret camera" it's not as bad as I thought it would be, there are a few with couples in promiscuous positions which seem to imply the camera can be used to catch your partner having an affair. I saw a couple of women in lingerie but they appear to be posing for the camera rather than being spied on. 

Most seem to imply it could be used for watching small children or home security.

Without meaning to ignore the power of advertising, I generally I think anyone who wanted one for creepy activities would have had that intention beforehand rather than seeing the image and thinking hey that's a good idea. 

If there are any of women in the shower or such that suggest they are being spied on in a creepy way then of course report to eBay and they may well remove the listing. 

RHemmings

Thanks. I must admit that when I saw the couples I thought of voyeurism, not catching a cheating partner. Though, in both cases I believe that filming with a secret camera is illegal and immoral. 

I'm sure that there are people who already have the intention of using the secret cameras for nefarious purpose and the photos will make no difference to them. But, I am mainly thinking of making one tiny step against those purposes being 'normalised' or enabling people to think 'everyone does it'. I've seen that type of thinking used in an attempt to justify all sorts of things that I would never ever even think of doing (like smuggling drugs out of Thailand) and it's the normalisation I think that reporting the listings may help, in a tiny way.

Yes, most of the listings are suggesting the cameras be used for security and child-minding. But, not all. And it's the minority of, what I believe to be, inappropriate listings that I'm trying to do something about. 

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

RHemmings said:

Thanks. I must admit that when I saw the couples I thought of voyeurism, not catching a cheating partner. Though, in both cases I believe that filming with a secret camera is illegal and immoral. 

I'm sure that there are people who already have the intention of using the secret cameras for nefarious purpose and the photos will make no difference to them. But, I am mainly thinking of making one tiny step against those purposes being 'normalised' or enabling people to think 'everyone does it'. I've seen that type of thinking used in an attempt to justify all sorts of things that I would never ever even think of doing (like smuggling drugs out of Thailand) and it's the normalisation I think that reporting the listings may help, in a tiny way.

Yes, most of the listings are suggesting the cameras be used for security and child-minding. But, not all. And it's the minority of, what I believe to be, inappropriate listings that I'm trying to do something about. 

AFAIK you can record secretly in your home, there's probably areas and situations where it crosses a line and breaches other laws. 

The problem with this becoming normalised is it already has, people are willing to put smart devices in their home that allow global corporations to listen to them, smart TVs have cameras in them and in general your behaviour is being monitored in ever increasing ways, society has accepted this for security, convivence and probably in part because they are too busy. 

The newspapers seem to like these kinds of stories, typically bad PR is what eBay and the like don't want, if the Daily Mail ran an article on eBay spy cameras being used to watch women in the shower eBay would probably have a purge on listings but of course once the bad PR blew over they'd likely soon forget about it.  

Doesn't interest me but if I were to buy one, given most of these sellers appear to be in China personally I'd be more concerned about the privacy risks of having their app for their camera on my phone than anything else. 

RHemmings

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said

AFAIK you can record secretly in your home, there's probably areas and situations where it crosses a line and breaches other laws. 

The problem with this becoming normalised is it already has, people are willing to put smart devices in their home that allow global corporations to listen to them, smart TVs have cameras in them and in general your behaviour is being monitored in ever increasing ways, society has accepted this for security, convivence and probably in part because they are too busy. 

The newspapers seem to like these kinds of stories, typically bad PR is what eBay and the like don't want, if the Daily Mail ran an article on eBay spy cameras being used to watch women in the shower eBay would probably have a purge on listings but of course once the bad PR blew over they'd likely soon forget about it.  

Doesn't interest me but if I were to buy one, given most of these sellers appear to be in China personally I'd be more concerned about the privacy risks of having their app for their camera on my phone than anything else. 

It seems that it's illegal to put a secret camera in a place, even in your own home, where people would reasonably expect to have privacy. E.g. in a bedroom, in a bathroom, etc. There may be an exception if the person installing the camera has a parental responsibility. 

https://www.spyequipmentuk.co.uk/spy-cameras-law-need-know/

[quote]

Spy Cameras and the Law

We should first point out that it is illegal to set up a hidden camera in any property or room where the individual would expect to have privacy. This may include bathrooms, changing rooms, locker rooms or swimming pools. An exception to the rule here may be when the person installing the spy camera has a parental responsibility.

Bedrooms are also considered an invasion of privacy – an exception to the rule here, however, may be when the person installing the spy camera has a parental responsibility for the room owner, or the room is shared by the camera owner (eg. with a partner). It is also illegal to hide a spy camera in someone else’s home.

While the use of hidden cameras is generally acceptable in common areas of the home, you may be at risk of breaching a person’s privacy and rights. To ensure you are acting lawfully, it’s best to further research the specific laws or speak to the spy camera experts. In our blog ‘Setting Up Surveillance – Advice And Laws’, we have provided more information about the legality of these cameras.

[/quote]

I was only meaning to talk about normalisation of use of spy cameras for voyeurism. I would agree that there is already quite a bit of normalisation of intrusive surveillance of other types. 

EDIT: Oh, [quote] doesn't work. 

Miser1964

>What is the best way to address these.<

Move on with your life and not try to police the internet, IMHO. If people want to buy spy cameras then complaining about some Ebay posts isn't going to stop them.