Missouri’s attorney general is suing a baby camera manufacturer, claiming the company hides direct ties to the Chinese military.
AG Catherine Hanaway filed the lawsuit against Lorex Corporation. Prosecutors say the security brand actively risks families’ safety by routing camera data straight to its hardware manufacturer, Dahua.
The U.S. Department of War officially designates Dahua as a Chinese military company threatening national security, giving the Chinese Communist Party potential control over the devices.
“The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world,” Hanaway said. “Missouri will not allow the CCP to put its hand on our cradles. Parents place these cameras over cribs and in bedrooms to protect their children, not to invite a foreign adversary into their homes.”
Hanaway says Lorex omitted fundamental facts to both parents and the big-box stores that sell them. Their products are sold online via Amazon and the company’s website, as well as in major retail stores such as Best Buy, Staples, Costco, Menards, Micro Center and Office Depot.
“Lorex tells families its video cameras are ‘private by design’ while concealing ties to a Chinese military company,” Hanaway said. “These cameras watch our babies breathe, capture our children’s voices, and record families’ most intimate moments. When companies won’t tell the truth about their connection to hostile foreign governments, my office will step in to protect families.”
Hanaway is pursuing damages exceeding $1.8 million and an injunction to halt the misleading safety claims.
The suit also demands cash restitution up to $1,000 for every Missouri citizen who purchased a camera over the last five years.
The legal action is part of an ongoing legal battle between the attorney general’s office and the Chinese government. Hanaway previously moved toward securing a historic $24 billion judgment against the People’s Republic of China for unleashing the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hanaway promised her office won’t back down, even after Chinese government hit her office with a defamation suit in the Court of Wuhan. The CCP argued Missouri caused $50.5 billion in economic losses and branded the state a “reputational menace.”
