Texas is suing five of the biggest TV makers, accusing them of “secretly recording what consumers watch in their own homes.” In separate lawsuits filed on Tuesday, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton claims the TVs made by Sony, Samsung, LG, Hisense, and TCL are part of a “mass surveillance system” that uses Automatic Content Recognition (ACR) to collect personal data used for targeted advertising.
ACR uses visual and audio data to identify what you’re watching on TV, including shows and movies on streaming services and cable TV, YouTube videos, Blu-ray discs, and more. Attorney General Paxton alleges that ACR also captures security and doorbell camera streams, media sent using Apple AirPlay or Google Cast, as well as the displays of other devices connected to the TV’s HDMI port, such as laptops and game consoles.
The lawsuit accuses Samsung, Sony, LG, Hisense, and TCL of “deceptively” prompting users to activate ACR, while “disclosures are hidden, vague, and misleading.” Samsung and Hisense, for example, capture screenshots of a TV’s display “every 500 milliseconds,” Paxton claims. The lawsuit alleges that TV manufacturers siphon viewing data back to each company “without the user’s knowledge or consent,” which they can then sell for targeted advertising.
Along with these allegations, Attorney General Paxton also raises concerns about TCL and Hisense’s ties to China, as they’re both based in the country. The lawsuit claims the TVs made by both companies are “Chinese-sponsored surveillance devices, recording the viewing habits of Texans at every turn.”
Attorney General Paxton accuses the five TV makers of violating the state’s Deceptive Trade Practices Act, which is meant to protect consumers from false, deceptive, or misleading practices. Paxton asks the court to impose a civil penalty and to block each company from collecting, sharing, or selling the ACR data they collect about Texas-based consumers. Samsung, Sony, LG, Hisense, and TCL didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
“This conduct is invasive, deceptive, and unlawful,” Paxton says in a statement. “The fundamental right to privacy will be protected in Texas because owning a television does not mean surrendering your personal information to Big Tech or foreign adversaries.”