German woman found a hidden camera in her California Airbnb rental. Now she's suing.

Two years ago, during a month-long trip to California, Edith Schumacher stayed in a house in Irvine, California that her partner Kevin Stockton had booked via Airbnb. While staying in the house, they did what people do when they think they are alone. They walked around naked. They talked about their relationship. They talked about “highly personal matters,” including their finances. But on the third day of their stay at the Airbnb, they suddenly felt very self-conscious, because, according to a lawsuit filed this week, they found a camera hidden between candles on a shelf that had, presumably, been recording everything they had done.

Schumacher, a German resident, is now suing the couple that put the home on Airbnb for invasion of privacy and emotional distress, as well as Airbnb itself, for negligence, arguing that the company should perform background checks on hosts and is responsible for her creepy experience. Schumacher says in her suit, which was first reported by The Recorder, that she told Airbnb about the hidden camera, but that the company continued to let the couple who owned the home, Fariah Hassim and Jamil Jiva, rent it out on Airbnb. That’s surprising given that Airbnb has previously said it has a “zero tolerance policy” for hidden cameras and would immediately remove a host who secretly taped his or her guests.

“Though we do not comment on pending litigation we will defend it vigorously. Airbnb takes privacy issues extremely seriously,” said an Airbnb spokesperson via email. “All hosts must certify that they comply with all applicable laws in their locations and are of course expected to respect the privacy of their guests. Airbnb warns hosts to fully disclose whether there are security cameras or other surveillance equipment at or around the listing and to get consent where required.”