Findings from the CNN investigation: How Airbnb fails to protect its guests from hidden cameras

CNN
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Airbnb has known for years that some of its hosts use hidden cameras to secretly spy on guests, invading their most private and intimate moments. While Airbnb has repeatedly acknowledged the problem in financial filings, it tries to hide the extent of the problem from the public through arbitration processes, confidential settlements and non-disclosure agreements with employees. The company is also fighting regulations that could protect users and give authorities more insight into how the platform is used.

CNN reviewed more than 2,000 pages of lawsuits and police records to learn more about the problem of hidden cameras in the short-term rental industry. CNN also spoke to nearly two dozen guests who found surveillance devices in vacation rentals or who were told by police were secretly recording them.

A CNN investigation found that the use of hidden cameras is an ongoing problem in the industry. There is little regulation and penalties for those who commit these crimes are lenient – video voyeurism is usually charged as a misdemeanor. At the same time, the people who are filmed – often naked or engaged in sexual activity – report suffering long-term trauma and fear that their images could be shared online at any time.

An Airbnb spokesperson told CNN that complaints about hidden cameras are rare, but when they do occur, “we take appropriate, swift action, which may include removing hosts and listings that violate policies.”

In a court-ordered deposition last year, an Airbnb representative was asked to answer a key question from the lawyer suing the company: How many complaints or reports of people being recorded by surveillance devices had Airbnb received since December 1, 2013?

The Airbnb representative said the company has created 35,000 customer support tickets about surveillance devices over the past decade. An Airbnb spokesperson told CNN that a single report can result in multiple tickets. The company declined to say how many individual complaints there have been.

In the deposition, which has not yet been made public, the company representative attempted to downplay the significance of the number of tickets, saying they could be cases such as a broken doorbell camera or a tablet with a recording function left on a coffee table. The representative did not provide statistics on the number of what she considered to be harmless claims among the 35,000 tickets.

A former employee who handled security issues and concerns for Airbnb’s support line told CNN, “I’ve never received a call about a doorbell.”

Airbnb does not notify law enforcement when it learns that a host is “violating its security camera and recording device policies,” even when a child is involved, the company representative testified.

However, the company may contact hosts to share their complaints as part of an internal investigation, a move law enforcement experts say could hamper criminal investigations by giving suspects time to destroy evidence.

Airbnb is making “every effort” to assist police investigations into hidden cameras, the company told CNN in a written statement.

Earlier this year, European Union lawmakers agreed on groundbreaking regulations for the short-term rental industry. The new rules require hosts to register, companies to share data and quality control listings. Airbnb called the regulations a “turning point” for the industry and praised the EU-wide approach.

The public praise obscures the fact that Airbnb has fought European cities over its attempts to regulate the industry, says Kim van Sparrentak, a member of the European Parliament who pushed the legislation through the governing body.

“Airbnb is similar to other sharing economy companies – at the local level, that means filing lawsuits as soon as regulation is proposed,” she said, referring to the company’s strategy of challenging regulations in court.

There are no comparable federal regulations in the USA.

Airbnb is fighting against local regulations that would give the government more control – many of which aim to curb illegal listings or require data sharing with authorities.

Airbnb does not conduct background checks on all users, and even if it does, customers are advised not to rely on those checks.

Airbnb does not conduct background checks on all users, according to its website. The company says it can conduct a background check on a U.S.-based user if it has at least the first and last name and date of birth of the person creating a listing.

However, the company’s website cautions users that they should not rely on the company’s background checks to detect “any prior criminal convictions or registrations as a sex offender…or other red flags.”

And even if Airbnb finds out that a user has a criminal past, convictions for “murder, terrorism, rape or child abuse” are not automatic grounds for disqualification, according to the company’s policy.

User verification is designed to ensure the accuracy of a listing and check a user’s name against a government-issued ID. Airbnb says it verifies the identity of every host, co-host and booking guest, but the company acknowledges that its ID verification card does not “guarantee that someone is who they say they are,” it says on its website.

In a statement, an Airbnb spokesperson told CNN: “Airbnb’s trust and safety policies are leaders in the vacation rental industry and include background checks on hosts and guests based in the U.S..”

Do you have information or a story about Airbnb safety concerns that you would like to share? Email [email protected], [email protected] And [email protected].”