Ask HN: Where to report about software taking pictures without permission?

10 points by Shinobuu 5 years ago | 2 comments

I'm a minor and I stumbled upon the following site due to my friend's brother taking their course. Now the thing is, they make you download encrypted video and give their own player, which is shady with its conditions (Like only laptops are allowed, yada yada) and I decided to have a go at it.

Main URL: https://www.swapnilpatni.com/index.php

Simple disassembly with dnSpy, am left me with their FTP server details where I find that their code is taking pictures from webcam and uploading it without any permissions. There are over 50 thousand pictures on that server (Search the directories recursively for .png).

FTP Address: ftp://13.234.148.151/ FTP Username: awsftpuser FTP Password: a_&$2KpPG

Am not sure what to do with the information and nor can I just shrug it off. Its a pretty big association so don't wanna take the heat.

Thank you for any input, and stay safe out there!

giantg2 5 years ago |

It depends on the location this takes place, the contract (user agreement), and the laws.

If the user agreement says they can take your picture, then there is likely nothing you can do, except maybe expose them through the media or maybe the EFF.

If the contract does not say anything about them being allowed to record you, then you could take the information to the police or an attorney depending on the laws and location.

Nemo_bis 5 years ago |

Send a report to one of the privacy authorities in member states. Several of them accept tips even if you are not directly affected. https://edpb.europa.eu/about-edpb/board/members_en