Smart TVs operating on behalf of foreign entities have alarming capabilities.
The TVs are capable of capturing screenshots of a user’s TV display every 500 milliseconds and sending that data back to their home country.
‘The days of Chinese tech companies spying on Americans’ televisions are over.’
Consumer data is then allegedly sold, in the same way online browsing data is, so companies can bolster their ad targeting capabilities. This not only puts sensitive user information at risk, but serves as a massive profit generator for TV manufacturers.
Until recently, there was no pushback against these major manufacturers, but in December, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton lined up lawsuits against Sony, Samsung, LG, Hisense, and TCL, directly accusing them of spying.
Definitely not ‘spying’
Through its lawsuits, Texas secured an agreement from South Korean manufacturer Samsung in February to stop collecting “Automated Content Recognition” data without user consent.
The settlement also compelled Samsung to implement disclosures and consent screens that are easy to understand by the user.
RELATED: Texas sues five TV manufacturers for secretly ‘spying’ on owners
Paxton commended Samsung for its changes and said the company “promptly implement[ed] important safeguards for consumers,” while other smart TV companies have instead “chosen to illegally spy on Texans and act as digital invaders in their homes.”
Samsung rejected the idea that it was spying, however, and said the settlement “affirms what Samsung has said since this lawsuit was filed — Samsung TVs do not spy on consumers.”
“In fact, Samsung allows you to control your privacy — and change your privacy settings at any time,” the company added, per BleepingComputer.
The Texas AG also made some ground against Hisense, a Chinese manufacturer.
A first of its kind temporary restraining order was granted against Hisense, which stopped the company from using its ACR technology to collect, use, sell, share, disclose, or transfer Texans’ data.
RELATED: States should work with AI, not against it
Artur Widak/NurPhoto/Getty Images
“The days of Chinese tech companies spying on Americans’ televisions are over,” Paxton declared. He has since vowed to bring the other companies, including Chinese brand TCL Technology, to court for “illegally spying on Texans,” stating that legal actions will “move forward.”
Tech billionaire and defense contractor Palmer Luckey recently called the intrusions a “growing problem for American national security” with an unbelievable amount of “sensitive and classified” information getting collected by foreign nations.
“Users have no idea. Nobody expects that their TV or monitor is a surveillance tool,” Luckey wrote on X. “When I have joked that Smart TVs should be illegal, I am only half-joking.”
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