TV makers questioned on viewer data collection
The gist
The Verge asked 11 TV and streaming-device companies 17 questions on data collection; Hisense ignored its emails.
The answers show opt-outs, encryption and microphone use vary widely by brand.
How it unfolded
- Dec 2025Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton launched lawsuits against Sony, Samsung, LG, Hisense and TCL over alleged privacy violations through ACR technology.
- Jan 9, 2026Five plaintiffs filed a class action against Samsung Electronics America in New York federal court, alleging illegal tracking, storing and selling of viewing data.
- Sep 2026A report accused LG of creating "216,000 spy TVs"; LG denies the claim.
Key terms
- automated content recognition (ACR)
- Technology that identifies content playing on a media device or in a media file, enabling automatic collection of viewing data.
- class action
- A lawsuit in which one or a few people sue on behalf of a larger group of similarly situated parties.
- Video Privacy Protection Act
- A 1988 US law barring video service providers from wrongfully disclosing customers' rental or sale records without consent.
Source: Wikipedia