In 2023, a Hong Kong couple, Eric and his girlfriend “Emily,” discovered that their intimate moments in a Shenzhen hotel had been secretly filmed and livestreamed to thousands on social media. They only realized this weeks later while browsing a platform Eric himself used to watch porn.
The footage, captured by a hidden camera in their hotel room, was edited into an hour-long clip and shared widely on Telegram. The couple was horrified, fearing that colleagues or family members might have seen the video, leaving them traumatised.
BBC investigators found that spy-cam pornography has become a persistent issue in China, despite pornography being illegal. These hidden cameras, often installed in hotels, livestream guests’ activities to paying subscribers. Investigators identified multiple operators, including a trader known as “AKA,” who managed channels with thousands of members and archives of thousands of videos.
The investigation traced some cameras to specific hotel rooms, where lenses were hidden in walls or ventilation units and connected to the building’s electricity. Despite new government regulations in 2025 requiring hotels to check for hidden cameras, the threat persists, with spy-cam content still available online.
NGOs like Hong Kong’s RainLily work to help victims remove non-consensual footage, but enforcement is difficult. Platforms like Telegram, where much of this content is shared, have been slow to respond.
Eric and Emily remain cautious, avoiding hotels and covering their faces in public to prevent recognition. The incident highlights a growing and disturbing trend of non-consensual filming and online exploitation in China’s hotel industry.