The enemy at home: Chinese espionage threat reaches US homes

Concerns are growing in the U.S. about potential Chinese Communist Party espionage on American soil. There are even suspicions that Beijing may be using baby devices as covert spying tools.

Warnings about Beijing’s growing presence and tactics on U.S. soil are no longer limited to illegal police stations or strategic land purchases; they now extend into the privacy of homes, fueling fears that Chinese control and surveillance could infiltrate even the daily lives of families.

This week, it was reported that Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier issued a subpoena to Lorex Corp., a leading manufacturer of baby monitors, security cameras, and doorbells. Uthmeier is demanding documents and information about the company’s corporate structure and any potential ties to Chinese Communist companies. He also seeks to determine whether Americans’ data or privacy may have been compromised.

"As part of a consumer protection and data privacy probe, our office has issued a subpoena to Lorex , which sells security cameras for home and business use, due to possible ties with the Chinese military," Uthmeier said in a video posted on his X account.

Uthmeier’s action stems from his belief that Lorex, although based in North America, has imported large quantities of equipment from a Chinese manufacturer banned in the U.S. due to alleged human rights violations and national security risks.

"Lorex Corporation is importing millions of devices from CCP-controlled Dahua, which has been banned in the United States for human rights abuses and national security risks," the bureau said in a statement sent to Just the News.

Concerns about potential Chinese espionage are a constant in the U.S. In April, it was reported that one way China has sought to expand its presence in the country is by attempting to recruit current or former U.S. officials. The National Counterintelligence and Security Center (NCSC) stated that Chinese intelligence services are trying to persuade individuals with federal agency experience to accept job offers using methods described as "deceptive" and "sophisticated."

"Their deceptive online job offers, and other virtual approaches, have become more sophisticated in targeting unwitting individuals with USG backgrounds seeking new employment. Current and former federal employees should beware of these approaches and understand the potential consequences of engaging," the NCSC said.

Weeks before this alert, the U.S. State Department (DOS) barred its employees and diplomatic personnel in China—as well as their family members and contractors with security clearance—from engaging in romantic or sexual relationships with Chinese nationals, warning that such relationships could pose national security risks and undermine diplomacy.

This comes in addition to the Chinese balloon—which flew over the United States for several days—and the arrests of alleged collaborators of the communist regime. A report by Nigel Inkster, former director of operations and intelligence at MI6, for The Spectator noted that TikTok admitted some of its employees had spied on U.S. journalists. In that regard, Inkster explained, Chinese intelligence services primarily target the United States.

"The harvested data serves a variety of purposes. Stolen medical data, for example, is used for biomedical research – which almost certainly includes not just pharma-ceutical but biowarfare programmes. Huge amounts of foreign data are used to train Chinese AI large-language models," the report detailed.

In addition, the report noted that there are undercover Chinese police stations in at least 50 mostly democratic countries. "Officials insist these entities exist to assist Chinese nationals with a variety of bureaucratic procedures. But surely that is what legitimate Chinese consulates are for? The reality is that these ‘police stations’ primarily exist to monitor and suppress anti-regime activity," the Spectator article explained.

Although it may seem that democratic countries are unaware of these actions by the Chinese regime, the reality is that nations such as the United States have raised warnings. In fact, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem described the CCP's cyberespionage campaigns as "extremely dangerous" and highly sophisticated during her confirmation hearing.