Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway filed a lawsuit against Lorex Corporation for allegedly concealing “material ties to the Chinese military via its manufacturer, Dahua.”

“Families and retailers like Costco, Best Buy, and Amazon are being lied to. Lorex, a leading manufacturer of baby monitors and home cameras, is concealing material ties to the CCP and Chinese military. We’re taking them to court,” Hanaway wrote on X.

More from Hanaway’s office:

Lorex has maintained ties to Dahua—its former owner and an ongoing supplier of components—despite the U.S. Department of Defense designating Dahua as a Chinese Military Company that threatens national security. Worse yet, researchers analyzing Lorex firmware found it routed straight to Dahua, further evidencing CCP involvement and control over device hardware and software. This affords the Chinese government access to Missourians’ data and security at any time.

Lorex misrepresented and omitted fundamental facts not only to consumers, but to the retailers Missourians rely on to vet products sold in their stores, concealing Dahua’s, and in turn the CCP’s, involvement and threat to national security. Products are sold at Best Buy, Staples, Costco, Menards, Micro Center, and Office Depot, and online via the Lorex website, Amazon, and other third-party retailers.

“Lorex tells families its video cameras are ‘private by design’ while concealing ties to a Chinese military company,” concluded Attorney General Hanaway. “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.”

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This action is not the first time Attorney General Hanaway has moved to hold the CCP to account, most notably, moving toward securing Missouri’s historic $24 billion judgment against the People’s Republic of China and the CCP for unleashing the COVID-19 pandemic. In response to this victory, the Attorney General’s Office was met with a defamation suit in the Court of Wuhan, China, where the Chinese government claimed Missouri caused $50.5 billion in economic and reputational losses and branded Missouri a “reputational menace.”

“The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world. Missouri will not allow the CCP to put its hand on our cradles,” Hanaway said.

“Parents place these cameras over cribs and in bedrooms to protect their children, not to invite a foreign adversary into their homes,” she added.

“Lorex tells families its video cameras are ‘private by design’ while concealing ties to a Chinese military company. My office is stepping in to protect families,” she said.

Watch below:

FOX4KC noted:

The attorney general’s lawsuit against Lorex, filed in the Circuit Court of Jefferson County, seeks restitution of up to $1,000 for each Missouri consumer who bought a Lorex camera over the past five years, damages exceeding $1.8 million and injunctive relief barring continued illegal and false statements that misrepresent product security.

 

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