Cinemas install ‘ spy’ cameras
Netizens angered over night vision in theaters
After it was revealed that some cinemas have installed night vision cameras inside the theaters to enable them to “spy” on patrons, questions were raised over whether this constitutes an invasion of privacy, although opinion on the legality differed.
Movie theater employees revealed that night vision cameras have been installed in screening rooms, which means that the audience can be clearly seen through monitors, despite the darkness during the movie. The public has expressed their shock online, the Beijing Youth Daily reported on Tuesday.
Some netizens said they feel embarrassed because they know they behaved badly during movie screenings – bringing their own noisy or smelly food inside, like duck necks or sunflower seeds, or using the opportunity of the darkened room for intimate moments with their partners.
Others shrugged off the move, arguing that cinemas are public arenas. Others said that cinemas are obligated to inform customers when they might be unknowingly subject to surveillance.
An employee of a cinema from the UME chain, the UME Huaxing International Cinema, was quoted in the report as saying that night vision cameras are installed as standard in screening rooms, but they are usually pointed at certain areas like projection screens, so the staff can conveniently monitor if there are any problems with the film’s projection.
The surveillance equipment is mostly to monitor for emergencies, the employee said.
One employee at another cinema, surnamed Zhou, said that only broader physical movements can be made out through night vision cameras, not facial expressions. No recordings from screening rooms can be released, as these are only available to security staff and projectionists, Zhou said.
The monitoring equipment also helps in the fight against movie piracy, as the cameras can reveal illegal recording.
“Installing cameras in screening rooms is illegal if audiences are not informed in advance,” Li Weimin, associate director of the rights and interests of consumers committee with the Beijing Lawyers Association, told the Global Times.
The businesses are breaching cinemagoers’ “right to know” and personal rights, Li said, adding that cinemagoers could file a lawsuit.
But lawyer Han Xiao was quoted by the Beijing Youth Daily as saying that cinemas, as public areas, “are entitled to install cameras without informing the audiences.”
Cinemagoers felt shocked by the personal intrusion because they still feel that a cinema is a relatively private site where they meet up with friends or lovers, Li noted.
Legally speaking, cinemas are public areas and cameras are allowed for administrative purposes, such as hunting criminal suspects, Li said, but he argued that “it is unnecessary to install cameras in cinemas, which are not high- crime venues.” There could be issues over safety of personal information if cameras are installed by businesses rather than administrative departments, Li noted.