A Beijing investigation found restaurants, food stalls and tourist sites livestreaming customers and tourists without warnings or consent. A lawyer says this may infringe portrait rights.
Tags:Eating Out in China? You May Be Livestreamed Without Knowing It
You sit down for a meal, wait at a food stall or queue outside a tourist attraction in China. Somewhere nearby, a phone may be broadcasting your face—and even your conversations—to thousands of viewers.
A recent investigation in Beijing found businesses using customers and tourists as backgrounds for commercial livestreams, often without visible warnings or their knowledge.
The Host Stays Off Camera. The Customers Don’t.
At one restaurant, a presenter stood quietly beside a phone mounted on a tall tripod, promoting discounted meal packages without appearing on camera.
The lens instead pointed directly at customers entering, leaving and eating inside. Reporters found no sign telling diners that a livestream was in progress.
At another shop selling cooked meats, a phone above the counter captured customers’ faces and conversations as they ordered food. The shop reportedly streamed almost every day, sometimes attracting more than 1,000 viewers.
One customer appeared shocked after being told she had just been broadcast online.
“Of course I mind,” she said. “If the shop had told me beforehand, I definitely wouldn’t have agreed.”
Tourists and Children Are Being Filmed Too
The same practice was found at tourist attractions.
One travel seller livestreamed a busy pedestrian street while promoting Beijing tour packages. The presenter stayed outside the frame while passing tourists became the main visual content.
Another livestream filmed people queueing to enter Universal Beijing Resort. More than 30,000 viewers watched as the faces of adults and children appeared clearly on screen.
When one presenter was asked why the camera showed tourists instead of the host, the answer was blunt:
“Why film me? That wouldn’t get any traffic.”
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Being in Public Does Not Mean Giving Permission
A Chinese lawyer interviewed by Beijing Daily said that being inside a restaurant, tourist attraction or other public venue does not mean a person has agreed to have their identifiable image broadcast for commercial promotion.
If a business clearly shows customers’ faces without informing them or obtaining consent, its livestream may infringe their portrait rights—the legal right to control certain uses of one’s identifiable image.
Businesses should instead film their food, products or surroundings. If customers may enter the frame, they should display a clear livestream notice and limit the filming area.
China’s official guidelines for online presenters also require livestreamers to respect individuals’ privacy and portrait rights.
So next time you notice a phone on a tripod facing the dining area, it may not be recording a short promotional video. You could already be live.
Would you mind appearing in a restaurant’s livestream?
Source: 北京日报
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