It's definitely a household monitoring artifact! "Liu stared at the constantly jumping Taobao order reminders on his computer screen, his mouth involuntarily curved upwards. What he didn't expect was that the small device in his Taobao store that advertised as "home monitoring" would make him stand in the criminal defendant's seat. Recently, Liu was sentenced for the crime of illegally selling wiretapping and photo stealing equipment. Liu runs an online store that sells ordinary electronic products. A loyal customer privately asked, "Are there any devices that can be used for covert filming?" In order to make this deal, Liu found a batch of devices with recording and video functions through his brother in a city in Guangdong Province. These devices do not require a network and can be remotely monitored by a plug-in 4G module combined with a specific mobile app. After simple modifications, these devices can be installed in sockets, clocks, speakers, power banks, car keys, and other items, allowing customers to remotely view audio and video recordings anytime, anywhere. Liu's covert filming equipment quickly attracted a large number of buyers. In March 2022, the Wen County Public Security Bureau in Henan Province discovered that someone had installed the aforementioned remote audio and video recording equipment. Through investigation, the online store operated by Liu was identified. The police found that these devices have recording and video recording functions and can be hidden and connected to mobile phones, which poses a potential danger of infringing on citizens' privacy and public safety. On May 30, 2024, the Wenxian Public Security Bureau accepted the case and filed an investigation. On October 26, 2024, it was transferred to the procuratorial organ for examination and prosecution. The People's Procuratorate of Wenxian County has filed a lawsuit alleging that from September 2021 to November 2022, Liu and his brother sold 1598 sets of modified equipment through online platforms, illegally profiting over 70000 yuan. After identification, these devices are professional eavesdropping and photo stealing equipment. The prosecutor demonstrated the hidden dangers of these devices in court: they can work continuously for 10 hours, support cloud storage, and have high-definition night vision in completely dark environments... These features have completely exceeded the reasonable scope of home monitoring. The investigating prosecutor pointed out that some of these devices were used for illegal tracking, commercial espionage, and even by criminals to carry out extortion. According to the Criminal Law of our country, those who illegally produce or sell specialized spy equipment or special equipment for eavesdropping or stealing photos shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years, detention or surveillance. At the beginning of 2025, according to the court's judgment, Liu was sentenced to two years in prison, suspended for three years, and fined 30000 yuan. (New Society)