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Airbnb has a hidden camera problem: Airbnb hosts are caught using hidden webcams to spy on people staying in unlicensed hotel rooms. If the company proclaims a policy of zero tolerance for the practice, it tacitly tolerates Airbnb hosts. who engage in this frightening and voyeuristic behavior.
Andrew Barker is a Kiwi infoec professional who has opened an Airbnb session in Ireland and who has used an Android app to scan the home's wifi network. He discovered an unencrypted webcam stream on port 80 and used the video stream to find the hidden camera in the living room of the house.
It's at this point that things got worse. After the Barker family was transferred to a hotel, they first notified their host (who had first hung up on him before protesting that he was not there. there was only one camera hidden in the house), then they informed Airbnb of their discovery, whose representatives "treat"[ed] "Then, after a" investigation "of a week, Airbnb told the family that" the host had been "exonerated" and the list restored. "
The Barkers have publicly stated that they were frustrated at not being contacted for the purposes of investigating or explaining Airbnb's decision, and re-inserting the list without any mention of the hidden camera.
After the media attention, Airbnb reversed and apologized.
Airbnb's policy states that hosts must disclose "any type of monitoring device" in the lists, "even if it's not turned on or connected". Cameras are allowed in certain areas if they are disclosed, but Airbnb "prohibited[s] any surveillance device present or observing the interior of certain private spaces (such as bedrooms and bathrooms), whether or not they have been disclosed. "
"If a host reveals the device after booking, Airbnb will allow the customer to cancel the reservation and get a refund." Cancellation penalties for the host may also apply ", also indicates the policy of Airbnb.
"We have an attitude of zero tolerance for violations and we immediately refer anyone who has violated the policy," Airbnb told Ars.
Airbnb said that "the security and privacy of its users … is our priority" and that it "strictly forbids[s] hidden cameras in the lists and we take the reports of any violation extremely seriously. "
An Airbnb customer found a hidden surveillance camera by scanning the Wi-Fi network [Jon Brodkin/Ars Technica]
(Image: Nealie Barker)
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Cory Doctorow
I write books. My latest are: A graphic novel by YA titled In Real Life (with Jen Wang); a documentary book on the arts and the Internet titled Information Does not Want to Be Free: Laws for the Internet Age (with introductions by Neil Gaiman and Amanda Palmer) and a science fiction novel YA entitled Homeland (continuation of Little Brother). I speak everywhere and I tweet and tumble too.
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