Sometimes you have to ask: what did you think was going to happen?
This is what happened when Amazon sold a $33 a spy camera hidden in a towel hook, advertising it as doing what it says on the tin.
One of the buyers of the product installed it in his bathroom and used it to spy for months on an underage Brazilian student staying with him. When the student discovered what was going on, she brought a lawsuit against Amazon for selling a product it knew was going to be used for making illegal recordings. Assuming it had no responsibility for what people do with the stuff they buy on its platform, the company was confident the case would be thrown out. Instead, the judge decided to admit the case. Now, the company could face payment of punitive damages, setting an important precedent with far-reaching repercussions.
Why has the judge agreed with the minor against Amazon? Common sense: if it advertises a product that makes no secret of its ability to secretly record somebody in the bathroom, it can hardly claim to be surprised or that it doesn’t have any responsibility for it being used for that purpose. In fact it could be argued it was encouraging people to break the law.
According to the lawsuit, Amazon has liability over the use of the spy camera because its product safety team inspected it and concluded it was not a product likely to be used to…
