Dec 26, 2025
3 min read
Claims against Sony, Samsung, LG, Hisense, and TCL: Collection of user data without consent.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has accused five major television manufacturers of illegally collecting user data by using automatic content recognition (ACR) technology to record what owners watch.
The positions are related to Sony, Samsung and LG, as well as Chinese manufacturers Hisense and TCL Technology Group Corporation.
The attorney general's office specifically highlighted "serious concerns" about Chinese companies, which are required to comply with Chinese national security law, potentially allowing the Chinese government access to US consumer data.
Christmas Sale -40% Christmas Sale!𝟰𝟬% discount on the first day of the "Dark Web and Cyber Threats" course in e-learning methodology at our school!𝟰𝟬% off!
Don't do it in 2019 to Red Hot Cyber Academy.
To take advantage of the promotional Christmas sale, write to us at [email protected] or contact us on Whatsapp at the phone number: 379 163 8765.
If you like the news and articles reported on Red Hot Cyber , subscribe to the weekly newsletter so you don't miss any news.The newsletter is generally sent to our readers at the beginning of the week, around Monday.
According to lawsuits filed in Texas courts, TV manufacturers use ACR technology to take screenshots every 500 milliseconds. This technology tracks user activity in real time and transmits the information obtained to the company's servers (without the knowledge or consent of the device owners). The information obtained is then sold to companies that pay more for targeted advertising.
"Companies, especially those with ties to the Chinese Communist Party, have no right to illegally record devices in American homes," Paxton said."These actions constitute a deceptive and illegal invasion of privacy. Fundamental privacy rights will be protected in Texas because owning a TV does not mean giving away personal information to tech giants or foreign adversaries."
It's worth noting that this isn't the first time smart TV makers have been accused of spying on users.
For example, in 2017, television manufacturer Vizio (owned by Walmart) paid $2.2 million to settle US charges.
It was later revealed that Vizio had collected viewing data from 11 million devices through its Smart Interactions feature without their owners or permission.In February 2014, Vizio and its affiliates launched "smart TV sets" (and older models that were remotely updated with the necessary software) that recorded detailed information about the content watched.
The information collected is linked to the user's demographics, such as gender, age, income, and education. It is then sold to third parties to serve targeted ads.
Additionally, in 2024, a group of researchers accused smart TV manufacturers (including Samsung and LG) of using the aforementioned Automatic Content Recognition (ACR) technology, similar to Shazam.
According to a report developed by researchers from University College London, University of California, Davis and Carlos III University of Madrid, the tracking system also works when televisions are used as outdoor displays, that is, when they are connected to other devices via HDMI.Therefore, ACR can block content coming from game consoles or laptops connected to the television.
Follow us on Google News, LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram for daily cyber security updates.If you'd like to tell us about news, insights or contributions to publish, drop us a line.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has accused five major television manufacturers of illegally collecting consumer data by using automatic content recognition (ACR) technology to record…
The Italian Competition and Markets Authority (AGCM) imposed a significant fine on Apple.The amount of the fine is 98.6 million euros, or approximately 115 million dollars.And it's about…
"greetings."Not “Dear”, not “Dear”, not even your first and last name. Just “Hello”.It's almost thrilling to read it like this.It looks like the start of a quickly written email, perhaps recycling an old template without even trying.
In Italy, cybersecurity is no longer an “IT department” issue.It's a question of national security, economic resilience, and democratic resilience.If you read the three pieces of public information in the annual report together...
Hackers love to use innocuous tools to infiltrate their target's networks and we all know this.And, in this case, they targeted the popular SSH client PuTTY.It's like…
