HK privacy watchdog probes 24/7 Fitness after pinhole cameras found in changing room

Hong Kong’s privacy watchdog has launched a probe into commercial gym chain 24/7 Fitness after pinhole cameras were discovered in the changing room of a Sha Tin branch.

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data (PCPD) said on Monday that it had begun a compliance check on 24/7 Fitness and required the company to provide information about its security measures following the pinhole camera discovery.

A staff member at a 24/7 Fitness branch in Sha Tin discovered pinhole cameras mounted on the ceiling in a changing room last month and filed a police report. A 34-year-old man was arrested and charged with voyeurism over the incident.

The PCPD said the probe was intended to “ensure that the personal data privacy of 24/7 FITNESS members is adequately protected,” adding that it would look into whether the security measures implemented by 24/7 Fitness are sufficient to prevent similar incidents from happening again.

In a statement following the incident, 24/7 Fitness said it had implemented new procedures and stepped up checks across all branches for hidden cameras.

The company said it had inspected the showers, changing rooms, and restrooms “to ensure members can use the facilities safely and with peace of mind.”

It had also suspended the suspect’s membership and assisted with the police investigation, it said.

The branch where pinhole cameras were found is located in Lek Yuen Estate in Sha Tin. 24/7 Fitness operates more than 160 gyms throughout Hong Kong.

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Hans Tse is a reporter at Hong Kong Free Press with an interest in local politics, academia, and media transformation. He was previously a social science researcher, with writing published in the Social Movement Studies and Social Transformation of Chinese Societies journals. He holds an M.Phil in communication from the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Before joining HKFP, he also worked as a freelance reporter for Initium between 2019 and 2021, where he covered the height - and aftermath - of the 2019 protests, as well as the national security law imposed by Beijing in 2020.