Nebraska is suing a home security camera company for allegedly deceiving consumers by hiding its ties to a U.S.-sanctioned Chinese tech company.
Nebraska Attorney General Michael Hilgers (R) filed the lawsuit Tuesday against Lorex, accusing the camera maker of misleading consumers about its privacy capabilities because of its failure to adequately disclose Dahua Technology’s involvement with the company.
“The Chinese Communist Party poses a direct threat to American security, including through market actors who create or exploit security to American consumers. This is a national issue, and we are leading the fight in Nebraska against these companies who enable CCP influence and surveillance,” Hilgers said in a statement.
“Lorex offers surveillance products and markets them for use in highly private areas, including children’s bedrooms. But this marketing is deceptive, as Nebraskans are not warned about security risks.”
Lorex said in a statement that it is aware of Nebraska’s lawsuit.
“At Lorex, we are proud to support millions of homeowners and businesses in North America who trust us to provide reliable security solutions that safeguard their families and livelihoods. The trust that our customers place in us defines the Lorex brand,” the statement said.
“We fully intend to contest the allegations made by the Attorney General, and we are confident that a fair hearing will determine that Lorex has taken the appropriate steps to safeguard customer privacy,” it added.
Lorex sells its products online through Costco and other large U.S. retailers. It says its high-definition cameras can be placed in sensitive locations, even a child’s bedroom, because of their privacy features.
Dahua acquired Lorex in 2018 and sold it in 2023 after concerns from the U.S. government about Dahua’s role in assisting the Chinese Communist Party with human rights abuses against Uyghur Muslims. Taiwanese firm Skywatch now owns Lorex, a Canadian-founded company.
Nebraska’s lawsuit cites a 2023 bipartisan letter to Costco from leaders of the Congressional Executive Commission on China that says Dahua continues to supply the component parts for Lorex cameras and other surveillance devices. The lawsuit also refers to an analysis of the firmware of one of Lorex’s cameras that took researchers to a domain affiliated with Dahua.
Lorex’s only privacy disclaimers on its Costco page and company page suggest its products are not designed for the federal government and its affiliates. The disclaimers do not include anything specifically about Dahua and the potential privacy issues it poses to consumers.
Dahua products have faced security vulnerabilities including backdoor issues, the lawsuit states. Dahua’s ties to the Chinese Communist Party, which requires companies like it to share data, could make it a useful vehicle for Chinese espionage and data harvesting.
“Lorex’s conduct has placed Nebraska consumers at serious risk of harm by making their most intimate images and private locations vulnerable to exploitation and intrusion by foreign actors with a proven track record of nefarious and untrustworthy conduct,” the lawsuit asserts.
Security concerns related to Lorex’s ties to Dahua are a factor in the state of Florida’s ongoing investigation of the camera maker for potentially misleading consumers. Lorex told NR it is fully cooperating with Florida’s investigation of its products.
“By hiding its reliance on Dahua, a CCP-controlled company sanctioned for human rights abuses and national security risks, Lorex is lying to American families. Marketing these cameras as ‘private by design’ while all the data is back-doored by Beijing is not just false advertising, it’s a direct threat to individual privacy and American national security,” said Michael Lucci, CEO of State Armor, a watchdog group focused on Chinese influence.
Nebraska is demanding injunctive relief, restitution for consumers, civil penalties and other relief from Lorex for alleged violations of consumer protection laws.