On March 26, 2019, the Huawei P30 mobile phones were released in Paris and attracted great attention with a picture named ‘Galactic starlight’. The new upgraded Huawei P30 Pro is called "the microscope and telescope of the mobile world"，as it has a 50X optical zoom function, which means it can magnify the objects in the mirror 50 times clearly. Its powerful features have sparked a buying spree.
Soon, photos were posted online, said to be candid photos of the residents living in the opposite residential building taken by Huawei P30 Pro, which the photos were clear, private and made people feel extremely horrible. We will not discuss the authenticity of these pictures for the time being, but it can not be denied that some people will use these digital products to peep into other people's lives. Believe that everyone is no stranger to"peeping". In recent years, with the development of science and technology, pinhole cameras are everywhere, and various peeping incidents can not be stopped. So when "peeping" comes, how can we protect ourselves by law?
One thing we need to make clear is that the law does not allow peeping! It's wrong to peep!
Article 38 of the Constitution expressly stipulates that the personal dignity of citizens of the People's Republic of China is inviolable. Peeping violates the privacy right of citizens' personal dignity. The right to privacy refers to the right of natural persons to enjoy the peace of private life and the protection of private life information according to law, free from other people's intrusion, understanding, using, disclosure and publicity. The behaviors like peeping, videotaping or eavesdropping shall all infringe citizen’ right to privacy.
What should we do in case of peeping?
Call the police! Don't rush to the peeper’s house in a rage to scold the peeper or rob phones or cameras, even bring a "murder weapon" to intimidate the peeper to delete the photos. Such acts will probably fail to obtain evidence but damage other people's things, which may be charged with the crime of intentional destruction of property, illegal invasion of houses, robbery and so on. (Small reminder: the standard amount of the crime of intentional destruction of property is 5,000 yuan, and the crime of illegal invasion of other people's houses is an act crime, so long as there is an act of invasion of citizens' houses, the case can be filed.) Therefore, when you find yourself being photographed, it is recommended to take photos or videos to leave evidence, then call the police, such benefits are safe, not afraid of the destruction of evidence, and police records can also become the evidence of future litigation.
Article 42 of the Security Administration Punishment Law stipulates that whoever peeps, photographs, eavesdrops or disseminates other people's privacy shall be sentenced to detention of not more than five days or a fine of not more than 500 yuan, if the circumstances are serious, he shall be sentenced to detention of not less than five days but not more than ten days, and may also be fined not more than 500 yuan.
If peeping really infringes on our privacy right, and the public security punishment is not enough to compensate for the harm, such as the exposure of private life photos, such as psychological shadow, we can also protect our rights and interests by filing infringement lawsuits. According to the provisions of the Civil Law and the Tort Liability Law, the infringed person may ask the infringer to bear the tort liability of stopping infringement, making an apology, compensating for loss, eliminating the impact and restoring the reputation. If the peeping causes serious mental damage to others, the infringed person may claim compensation for mental damage.
In 2017, a man Zhou in Shanghai sued his colleague for violating his privacy and won the lawsuit. One day, when Zhou was taking shower in the changing room after work, he was secretly photographed by his colleague. Soon his nude photos were sent to the unit WeChat group as a joke. Later, Zhou sued to the court, and Shanghai Fengxian district court made a first-instance judgment, sentencing the defendant to post an apology letter to apologize and pay the plaintiff 5000 yuan for mental damage compensation.
Shanxi Datong court also heard a privacy dispute case in 2018: The plaintiff found himself being secretly taking photos by the defendant when he was in the public toilet . He immediately called the police and the defendant was sentenced to administrative detention for 10 days. Later, the plaintiff sued the defendant for the infringement of privacy. The court adopted the evidence of administrative punishment decision provided by the plaintiff and ordered the defendant to orally make an apology to the plaintiff and compensate 5,000 yuan for emotional damage. The above plaintiffs all use their own experience to tell us that when rights and interests are violated, pick up the legal weapons and say no to peeping!
While technology brings convenience to us, it may also lead to new illegal and criminal problems. We cannot limit the progress of society, but we can regulate our own behavior. Everyone should pay attention to not infringe on others’ rights while exercising their rights. When "peeping" comes, please be careful to protect yourself!
