Airbnb Has A Hidden Camera Problem

Source: Photo by Chesnot/Getty Images

Thousands of complaints about hidden cameras in properties have been filed against Airbnb and it seems the company isn’t doing anything about it.

A detailed CNN report highlighted the severity of the problem.

Thousands of images have been recovered from short-term rental hosts by law enforcement. Hidden cameras placed in bedrooms and bathrooms show guests during their most private moments – changing clothes, being with their children, even having sex, according to CNN’s review of court and police records, as well as interviews with nearly two dozen guests who found surveillance devices at short-term rental properties or were told by police they had been secretly recorded.

It was also revealed in the article that the company isn’t exactly cracking down on the voyeuristic hosts like they should.

During the hours-long deposition, the Airbnb employee also revealed that when a guest complains of a hidden camera, the company doesn’t – as a matter of practice – notify law enforcement, not even when a child is involved. The company may, however, reach out to hosts about complaints as part of internal inquiries – a move law enforcement experts say could hinder criminal investigations because it gives suspects time to destroy evidence […]

Airbnb seeks to compel complainants into arbitration, a process that hides cases from public view, according to six attorneys who represented clients in cases against the short-term rental platform. When a settlement is reached, Airbnb has required users to sign confidentiality agreements, which bar them from discussing details of the deal. Airbnb told CNN its use of arbitration and non-disclosure agreements are standard practices within the industry.

This information is concerning for those who have stayed in Airbnb’s and those who have unfortunately fell victim say they live in fear that their private moments will end up on the internet for the world to see.

“This is not my Social Security number or my email address. This is my naked body,” said one woman whose host secretly recorded her having sex with her husband at a cottage in Texas.

To add to the darkness of this issue, it has been revealed that Airbnb doesn’t automatically disqualify users with criminal backgrounds under company policy, even if the users have been convicted of “murder, terrorism, rape or child molestation.”

Airbnb declined CNN’s request for an interview. However, in a written statement, a spokesperson said that hidden camera complaints are rare, but when they do occur “we take appropriate, swift action, which can include removing hosts and listings that violate the policy.”

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