New camera technology, current laws make fight against peeping Toms difficult: experts

Hans School lays out several seemingly household items on the front counter of his Yonge Street store, Spy Tech spy shop.

Among them a pen, a pair of glasses and a coffee cup.

All of them are also hidden cameras.

“The sale of these type of electronic products are always going up,” said School.

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“Because as the price goes down more and more people are buying these things.”

School adds that the cameras disguised as common objects are advancing quickly in video quality and sound. What’s more, with Wi-Fi and data plans becoming cheaper and readily available, people can live-stream what they see on the other side of their cameras directly on their smartphones as it’s being recorded.

It’s exactly the type of product peeping Toms would purchase, say tech experts.

READ MORE: Upskirting victim launches website to flag hidden cameras across Toronto

“The cameras in stores or online, they’re just available to the public,” said School. “Anybody can just buy them, whatever kind you’re interested in, for the application they need.”

That’s especially concerning for people who work at the Toronto Rape Crisis Centre, who say they’ve seen an increase in the number of people who have come forward with stories that they’ve been recorded without their consent.