After a spy camera designed to look like a towel hook was purchased on Amazon and illegally used for months to capture photos of a minor in her private bathroom, Amazon was sued.

The plaintiff—a former Brazilian foreign exchange student then living in West Virginia—argued that Amazon had inspected the camera three times and its safety team had failed to prevent allegedly severe, foreseeable harms still affecting her today.

Amazon hoped the court would dismiss the suit, arguing that the platform wasn’t responsible for the alleged criminal conduct harming the minor. But after nearly eight months deliberating, a judge recently largely denied the tech giant’s motion to dismiss.

Amazon’s biggest problem persuading the judge was seemingly the product descriptions that the platform approved. An amended complaint included a photo from Amazon’s product listing that showed bathroom towels hanging on hooks that disguised the hidden camera. Text on that product image promoted the spycams, boasting that they “won’t attract attention” because each hook appears to be “a very ordinary hook.”

  • surewhynotlem@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    23
    ·
    1 year ago

    My jokes aside, I absolutely have towel hooks in non bathrooms. It’s turns out there also capable of holding jackets and other things, despite the name.

    • FaceDeer@kbin.social
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      10
      arrow-down
      3
      ·
      1 year ago

      And also, the bathroom seems like a prime location for a child abuser to corner a victim.

      Huh. I’m actually swinging very slightly back toward Amazon’s side on this. Only very slightly, though. This is a tricky case.

      • MaximumPower@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        11
        arrow-down
        1
        ·
        edit-2
        1 year ago

        If you think the baby sitter is abusing your kid, your a moron, why even hire him/her.

        And now you are also recording the babysitter going to the bathroom.