Signs: LG Smart TVs Accused Of Recording Audio And Tracking Household Devices

Researchers accuse LG smart TVs of extraordinary household data collection, but LG strongly denies recording ambient conversations.

LG televisions may have quietly turned the family living room into one of the strangest privacy battlegrounds of the year.

And I have questions. Here we go.

A massive investigation involving Gamers Nexus, Level1Techs and independent security researchers examined LG smart TVs and came away with allegations that sound like something from a paranoid Wu Tang affiliate. This time Ray Gawd Killah is not crazy. In fact, he never was. FYI: there is no Wu member or affiliate named Ray Gawd Killah.

Moving on.

According to the investigation, certain LG TVs were allegedly collecting extensive information about their surroundings, including nearby WiFi networks and devices such as phones and smartwatches. Researchers also reported finding audio related data generated while televisions were in standby mode. Even more troubling, disconnecting a television from the internet allegedly did not necessarily end the collection. Researchers said information could be stored locally and transmitted after connectivity returned.

Then there is advertising.

The investigation alleges some collected information ultimately traveled into LG’s advertising ecosystem. LG already operates Automatic Content Recognition technology, commonly called ACR, which can identify what viewers are watching across different sources. Independent academic research has previously demonstrated that ACR tracking can operate even when smart TVs are essentially being used as external displays through HDMI.

Now LG is pushing back hard.

“Other than these instances, the TVs do not collect or record ambient conversations,” they said, rejecting the charges.

The company says the allegations about ambient conversations are false. LG maintains that voice information is processed when somebody deliberately activates voice functionality, such as pressing the microphone button or using an enabled wake word. LG also says its ACR functionality requires user consent.

Here is where things get particularly…special.

LG’s own U.S. terms acknowledge that voices and utterances from family members, guests, children and other people nearby may be recorded and analyzed when voice recognition functionality is being used.

That does not prove LG is secretly recording everybody’s dinner conversations. But it certainly demonstrates why consumers deserve extremely precise answers about when microphones activate, what gets stored, where that information travels and how easily users can truly opt out.

Reports surrounding the investigation put LG’s global smart TV footprint at roughly 216 million sets.

So where are the regulators?

Because if my television knows what I’m watching, what devices are around me and potentially what somebody is saying nearby, I don’t own a television anymore.

I have a roommate. I am looking at Alexa and Siri sideways now. That’s three roommates.

And apparently my roommates works in advertising, tech and maybe espionage.

Illseed outta here.

Related