Regulation can stop illegal live-streaming

SOME QINGGUO camera users recently found that their daily life was being live-streamed by the camera. Yixin, the company that makes Qingguo, said it has already closed the livestreaming function of the camera. Beijing News comments:

Asked by a journalist about the case, Yixin executives first said they had set terms for all camera users, and only if a user clicked “yes, I agree” was his or her daily life live-streamed.

However, an investigation showed the live-streaming term appears in very small fonts and is “hidden” among other terms in such a way that the user would most likely click “yes”.

In this case, the company’s excuse doesn’t hold water. People install close-circuit TV cameras as a security measure. And live-streaming their daily life is a violation of their privacy. The company should realize this fact, and by hiding the “yes, I agree” term among other terms it fooled the users into agreeing to something they wouldn’t have done otherwise.

Thanks to public pressure, the company has shut down the live-streaming function of its cameras.

The growth of live-streaming platforms has also given rise to illegal activities. In July 2016, the then Ministry of Culture issued a guiding document on strengthening regulation on live-streaming platforms, and four months later the Cyberspace Administration of China passed a regulation on live-streaming services. But the fact is, some companies are exploiting the loopholes in regulation to make profits at the cost of users.

It’s time the legislature enacted specific laws on live-streaming, which should be strictly enforced so that people’s legitimate rights and interests are better protected.