You step out for a meal, and suddenly you’re being livestreamed 📺
#YouStepOutForAMealAndSuddenlyYoureBeingLivestreamed
Ms. He from Ürümqi went to a restaurant for a meal and turned around to discover that a staff member’s phone, set up for a livestream, was right behind her.
She and her friend were eating when, out of nowhere, they became the restaurant’s “livestream backdrop.”
When she entered the livestream, she could clearly hear people at another table chatting.
A reporter’s investigation found that this is far from an isolated case: at a hot-spring hotel, at least two streamers are on duty during every time slot, with the women’s area exit, hot-spring pools, and buffet restaurant all in view; at a self-serve mini hot-pot restaurant, a staff member pointed a phone at the refrigerated display, capturing every customer picking up food; and one person selling boxed meals livestreams from a first-person perspective using a camera hanging around his neck, drawing an average of 700,000 to 800,000 viewers per session.
More importantly, this isn’t a case of “if you’re caught on camera, so be it.” In an earlier case, a customer sued a hot-pot restaurant in Suzhou after being filmed. The court ruled that publishing a customer’s image without consent constituted an infringement, and ordered the restaurant to issue a public apology and pin it for three days, as well as pay 500 yuan in emotional distress damages.
My take: going out to eat these days means bringing your own “internet prosthesis.” Businesses can promote themselves, but they should ask before switching on the camera. Broadcasting without asking isn’t publicity—it’s treating customers as free extras. If you find yourself in a livestream, it’s perfectly reasonable to ask the business to turn the camera away right then and there. And if your image has already been used, don’t be afraid to make a fuss—stand up for yourself. Cameras are everywhere these days; if you want to disappear completely, you might have to head for some signal-free mountain ravine.
Have you ever noticed a business livestreaming while you were eating? Tell us in the comments.
Source: Xinjiang Daily (Wang Jingjing), via Shunwang News
#YouStepOutForAMealAndSuddenlyYoureBeingLivestreamed
Ms. He from Ürümqi went to a restaurant for a meal and turned around to discover that a staff member’s phone, set up for a livestream, was right behind her.
She and her friend were eating when, out of nowhere, they became the restaurant’s “livestream backdrop.”
When she entered the livestream, she could clearly hear people at another table chatting.
A reporter’s investigation found that this is far from an isolated case: at a hot-spring hotel, at least two streamers are on duty during every time slot, with the women’s area exit, hot-spring pools, and buffet restaurant all in view; at a self-serve mini hot-pot restaurant, a staff member pointed a phone at the refrigerated display, capturing every customer picking up food; and one person selling boxed meals livestreams from a first-person perspective using a camera hanging around his neck, drawing an average of 700,000 to 800,000 viewers per session.
More importantly, this isn’t a case of “if you’re caught on camera, so be it.” In an earlier case, a customer sued a hot-pot restaurant in Suzhou after being filmed. The court ruled that publishing a customer’s image without consent constituted an infringement, and ordered the restaurant to issue a public apology and pin it for three days, as well as pay 500 yuan in emotional distress damages.
My take: going out to eat these days means bringing your own “internet prosthesis.” Businesses can promote themselves, but they should ask before switching on the camera. Broadcasting without asking isn’t publicity—it’s treating customers as free extras. If you find yourself in a livestream, it’s perfectly reasonable to ask the business to turn the camera away right then and there. And if your image has already been used, don’t be afraid to make a fuss—stand up for yourself. Cameras are everywhere these days; if you want to disappear completely, you might have to head for some signal-free mountain ravine.
Have you ever noticed a business livestreaming while you were eating? Tell us in the comments.
Source: Xinjiang Daily (Wang Jingjing), via Shunwang News