The class  lawsuit was against Samsung Electronic America Inc and Samsung Electronics Co.ltd alleged they secretly recorded consumers private conversations even when their Smart TV was turned off.

The plaintiff was a Joshua Siegal, his complaint was that Samsungs ‘deceptive, misleading, unconscionable practice of routinely, secretly intercepting recording private communications of consumers in their own homes using hidden recording devices inside Smart TVs, then using and transmitting those private conversations to third parties, this was said to be in violation of the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act and other various statutes and laws.

It was also alleged Samsung failed to take reasonable steps to protect against unauthorized third parties from gaining access to consumers private conversations. Smart TVs are home entertainment systems capable of responding to voices and gestures

The Samsung Smart TV class action lawsuit also alleges Samsung failed to take reasonable measures to protect against unauthorized third parties from gaining access to consumers’ private conversations.

The complainant had purchased several Samsung Smart TVs which he kept in the living room and bedrooms within his home. He had been unaware that Samsung Smart TV could secretly record and transmit his family’s private conversations and use his personal data to share with third parties or the data could be hacked by third parties. Samsung was accused of inadequate efforts to protect sensitive consumer data.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) had already deemed the defendants conduct as misleading and deceptive and it was said:- “Samsung users would not reasonably have anticipated that be using a voice controlled Smart TV their private conversations would be transmitted sometimes to third parties. TV products since January 9th 2012. He asserted claims for violations of the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act, negligence, common law fraud, breach of express warranty, breach of duty of good faith and fair dealing.

The complainant sought an order requiring Samsung to stop intercepting, recording, transmitting consumers private communications, disgorgement of wrongful obtained profits, restitution, actual damages, punitive damages, attorney fees, costs, pre and post judgement interest and other legal fee’s (Joshua Siegal v Samsung Electronics America US District Court for the District of New Jersey)

RESEARCHED LINKS:  By Carol Sakey.  https://wakeupnz.org

https://www.consumerreports.org/privacy/how-to-turn-off-smart-tv-snooping-features/  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIhKiR39IK0  https://money.cnn.com/2015/02/09/technology/security/samsung-smart-tv-privacy/index.htmlr                                                                                                                   https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2019/09/18/you-watch-tv-your-tv-watches-back/

https://www.gadgetreview.com/where-is-the-camera-on-my-smart-tv

Samsung Class Action Lawsuit Says Smart TVs Spy on Consumers

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/jan/29/what-your-smart-tv-knows-about-you-and-how-to-stop-it-harvesting-data

https://www.komando.com/trch-tips/stop-smart-tv-tracking/544540/                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Tutorials point- How to stop your Smart TV from spying on you  https://www.tutorialapoint.com/how-to-stop-your-smart-tv-from-spying-on-you

NOTE: PLEASE CLICK ON IMAGE TO TAKE YOU TO MY VIDEO ON RUMBLE

A TV is no longer just a device that’s shows you content, it’s a two way mirror allowing the user to be observed in real time by a network of advertiser and data brokers. But to gather as much information as possible about your behaviour, interests, preferences and demographics so it can be monetized mainly through targeted advertising, and its difficult to avoid. A study dome by imperial College London found data from a Smart TV and other Smart Devices was sent to Google ad-business and to Netflix, even if people did not have Netflix. Most Apps installed on your Smart TV will be snitching to a large network of advertiser and data brokers. The purpose of this is to gather as much information as possible about your behaviour, interests, preferences and demographics so it can be monetised, mainly through targeted advertising.”. There is no clear cut answer as to what is done with the data, its highly opaque, and is unclear why the data is being harvested and where its being sent.

There is no much difference between the TV brand manufacturer claim to use your information for ‘personalisation’ and quality of content, but its common to sell this type of data, anonymised or semi-anonymised to third parties, advertising companies or streaming service. After the data has been sold, its out of the manufacturers control. There is not much difference between TV brands. Manufacturers claim to use your information for “personalisation” and quality of content, but it is common to sell this type of data, anonymised or semi-anonymised, to third parties, advertising companies or streaming services. “After the data has been sold, it is out of the manufacturer’s control,”

Using ‘streaming services’ on a Smart TV is another sure-fire way of handing over lots of your personal data. Apps such as Netflix, Amazon, Prime and Now TV tend to claim they only use data for necessary services such as recommendations or credit checks, but this can include data such as device identifiers, geo-location, browser type, email address and payment information. Netflix has powerful recommendations that algorithms fuel by helping users to choose which shows to watch. If you log onto Netflix via your browser you can tweak the privacy settings to limit the data that’s collected and shared, you can opt out of this.

AUTOMATIC CONTENT RECOGNITION (ACR): Is a scary feature when you purchased you TV its usually turned on to default settings this uses analytical techniques to identify videos and audio running on the TV, matching it against a big database to identify whats being played. ACR: Works on anything played on the TV including DVDs and Blu-rays, CDs and games The viewing of data and habits are shared with manufacturers and ultimately sold to advertiser in order to target you with adds. When your TV is connected to your home router data will include your IP Address and location (Source-Jake Moore. Global Cybersecurity Advisor at a Security Company ‘ESET’).

ACR can be used for unsettling profiling, as it has analytical technologies availability, data from facial recognition, sentiment analysis, speech to text & content analysis these can  be gathered to build an in depth picture of an individual user. Instead of matching content against a list of movies, ACR could in theory be analysed for political position, ethnicity, socio-economics position etc., highly abusive in the wrong hands.

Using the browser on your TV lacks the antivirus and additional security settings built into your smartphone or PC. Cyber attackers can eavesdrop on the browsers traffic and compromise the cookies that manage authentication to online services such as social media accounts or online banking, and impersonate people (Source: Senior Lecturer at De Montford University’s Cyber Security Centre. Leicester)

“Cyber-attackers can eavesdrop on the browser’s traffic and compromise the cookies that manage authentication to online services, such as social media accounts or online banking, and impersonate people,” says Dr Francisco Navarro, a senior lecturer at De Montfort University’s Cyber Security Centre in Leicester.

If you use your smart phone as a TV remote be mindful that connecting to a Smart TV with a mobile will be done via Bluetooth or across the network therefore “if the Smart TV was hacked it might be used to attack your mobile device, the risk is low” (Source: James Griffiths. Co-Founder and Technical Director at Cyber Security Associates) Smart TV’s will collect Data and you cannot stop this from happening altogether

By connecting to the internet you cannot stop the TV from collecting data altogether.  If you dumb your TV down too much it will affect your viewing experience, therefore its important to know say Netflix features, knowing there are some basic measurements you can take to protect yourself from Smart TV spying. Turn off ACR in the settings, disable ‘personalisation, opt-out of all advertising features and cover or disable camera’s and microphones. Make sure your Router is protected by changing the password.

Yet there are some basic measures you can take to protect yourself from smart TV spying. Turn off ACR in the settings, disable personalisation, opt out of all advertising features and cover or disable cameras and microphones. You  can improve security by opting out of ‘web tracking’ when its offered and applying software updates as soon as they are available.

How to turn off the Snooping Feature on a Smart TV: On the Home screen, under Settings, scroll down to Privacy. Hover over it, and you’ll see entries for Advertising, Voice, Smart TV Experience and Privacy Policy. Under Advertising you can uncheck Personalize ads to stop getting targeted ads, and reset the advertising ID. Remember that Smart TV’s collect data about what you watch with a technology called ‘Automatic Content Recognition” or ACR. You cannot stop all data collection without disconnecting the set from the internet, but you can turn off ACR on many models of Smart TVs. Note that Smart TVs may use another name for ‘ACR’ and the controls can be hard to find. Smart TVs are ‘Smart’ you may not be aware of it but your Smart TV knows, shares a lot of information about you.

The streaming apps on your TV set may collect data on you, even if you never sign in. And your Smart TV will also collect information for its manufacturer, possibly including your location which apps open more and more. These companies can also capture voice when you use the mic on a Smart TV Remote, and collect data about you from outside companies

Smart TVs may contain a camera, which can be found on the top edge of the TV. These TVs may also include microphones or collect viewing data. The options to turn off each of these features typically reside in the settings menu. Consumers can find the camera on a Smart TV by looking for a circle where the lens is situated, typically at the top edge of the TV. By putting the camera on the top of the screen, brands ensure that the camera can see the user, who will presumably sit directly in front of the TV.

The Microphone On The Smart TV: May use your voice control to gather more information about you as a viewer. Many brands state that they do not save this information on the server, however someone nefarious can easily hack the microphone as they would a camera. Most TVs with camera’s do not include an indicator to show the camera is on. Some Smart TVs have a microphone symbol that shows on the TV when its listening, others may have an indicator light. If your TV is listening through the microphone it will typically respond to the users command.

RESEARCHED LINKS:  By Carol Sakey.  https://wakeupnz.org

https://www.consumerreports.org/privacy/how-to-turn-off-smart-tv-snooping-features/  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIhKiR39IK0  https://money.cnn.com/2015/02/09/technology/security/samsung-smart-tv-privacy/index.htmlr                                                                                                                   https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2019/09/18/you-watch-tv-your-tv-watches-back/

https://www.gadgetreview.com/where-is-the-camera-on-my-smart-tv

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/jan/29/what-your-smart-tv-knows-about-you-and-how-to-stop-it-harvesting-data

https://www.komando.com/trch-tips/stop-smart-tv-tracking/544540/                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Tutorials point- How to stop your Smart TV from spying on you  https://www.tutorialapoint.com/how-to-stop-your-smart-tv-from-spying-on-you

Yes your Smart TV get spy on you with its camera and microphone. Do you trust your Smart TV defaults- you should not. Internet devices have a huge potential of being hacked, can pervade your privacy, When you install burglar alarms, cctv devices etc., at your home, this acts like a door keeper, it hinders entrance but may not stop some-one from entering your property and robbing you off your personal items.

So protecting yourself as much as possible, making it more difficult to steal personal information, robbing you of your privacy, personal information your identification to be used for eg advertising purposes, sold to crims, used for political reasons and much worse we need to put obstacles in the way

Because your Smart TV is connected to your internet like other devices in your home- TV and mobile phone. Gaming devices, laptops, computers, camera’s,  this is a huge data base collection that is potential to risk of hacking because they are all connected to the internet as is your Smart TV manufacturers, App developers have this ability therefore we need to do all we can to protect those that live in our home and those that  visit.

Know what features your Smart TV has. Do a basic internet search of your TVs Model Number and Make. Look up the words ‘microphone’ and ‘camera’ and ‘privacy’. Do NOT depend on manufacturers default settings. If you can change passwords on your Smart TV do so. . Learn how to turn the microphone and camera off.

Microphones, Camera’s and ‘collection of ‘personal information’. If you can’t turn them off them this is a potential risk in buying this model. If you cannot turn off the camera, simply put black tape over the camera eye. And check the ability of the manufacturer to update your device with security patches.

Data misuse is a significantly a risk for Smart TV owners. App purchasing, advertising, surveys etc., such as Netflis, You Tube harvest huge amounts of data. Your data could end up in cyber crim hands, malicious appliances can potentially take control of your Smart TV, just like other ‘Smart’ devices that are connected to the internet.

Can capture passwords, personal data. Data can be sold to 2nd, 3rd, 4th even 5th parties, this is a great revenue in the hands of cyber crims. Can interfere with politics, economic status, your Smart TV can be used to target you, your family and those that visit your home

2015 Samsung landed in hot water regarding a worded statement on monitors and living room conversations, they acted extremely quickly to reword the statement. There was an outcry a fear that the public were being monitored. Samsung was caught spying listening to private conversations using camera’s and microphones monitoring people in their private homes

References are made to devices that are marketed with ‘features’ to make the users life easier. ‘Wake Word’ is sent back to the manufacturers so then they can train their speech algorithms.  Some Smart TV’s have ‘ gesture control’ inputs, analysing facial expressions, what you enjoy and don’t enjoy watching. (Tells a lot about a person, the way they feel and think)

Automatic Content Recognition (ACR) uses different analytical techniques by matching running video’s and audio to an extensive base whilst usually an ‘Opt-in ‘ feature what statistics show that most uses choose to use  ACR.  Gaming, DVD, TV, Streaming or custom camera feeds can be captured as an input.  ACR can potentially play a more sinister role, create a profile of a user. In the wrong hands, leverage the profile for a myriad of functions that can be used for cyber crims. ACR is another form of ‘profiling’ where graphics, audio shown on TV are analyzed by algorithms that attempt to interpret and classify content. These classifications can be used to make inferences about the person watching the TV. This can be sold on the black market, used for target advertising, marketing, traded via data to other organizations etc.,

TV Settings>Preferences’ turn off setting labeled ‘Collect App & Over the Air Usage’ and turn off ‘Internet based adds’ in this section. For Android go to Settings>about ‘legal information’ then disable personalized adds.  For LG go to Settings>All settings> Scroll down to ‘General’, then scroll to settings ‘Live Pics’ then toggle off. Uncheck ‘Use Information’ from TV device Inputs and disable ACR. For Samsung go to Settings>Support>scroll down to ‘terms and policies’  turn off ‘viewing information services’ and ‘Voice Recognition Services

VIZIA- Go to System> Reset> Admin> viewing toggle and turn it off.

SMART TVS’ COMERA AND MICROPHONE: 1? Got to Settings> look for ‘Privacy Options’  2) Look for ‘advertising > select ‘Limit Add Tracking’ or similar. 3) Go to ‘microphone’ and ‘camera’ accessibility and turn off.  Main Menu > Click Settings> go to ‘support’ scroll down to ‘terms and policies’ and turn off ‘Voice Recognition’

Android Devices: Navigate Settings>Applications Manager>Permissions>Select and turn off the microphone. If you have a Smart TV have a closer look at your ‘privacy settings’ – Home>Settings>System>Expert Settings

Know your TV before some-one else knows you, protect your data, create a strong password for apps eg Netflix and You Tube. Consider your TV as having a voice control for trusted third parties. Your black tape https://topclassactions.com/lawsuit-settlements/lawsuit-news/samsung-class-action-lawsuit-says-smart-tvs-spy-consumers/put over camera.

Samsung > Navigate settings. select. ‘Expert settings’, find camera and microphone options. Most Smart TVs have Mics some in the front usually one mic bottom right corner but some have two bottom left and right corner of the screen. Turn off Voice Assistant

Research  Carol Sakey  –  https://wakeupnz.org

RESEARCHED:

By Carol Sakey.  https://wakeupnz.org

https://www.consumerreports.org/privacy/how-to-turn-off-smart-tv-snooping-features/  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIhKiR39IK0  https://money.cnn.com/2015/02/09/technology/security/samsung-smart-tv-privacy/index.htmlr                                                                                                                   https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2019/09/18/you-watch-tv-your-tv-watches-back/

https://www.gadgetreview.com/where-is-the-camera-on-my-smart-tv

Samsung Class Action Lawsuit Says Smart TVs Spy on Consumers

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/jan/29/what-your-smart-tv-knows-about-you-and-how-to-stop-it-harvesting-data

https://www.komando.com/trch-tips/stop-smart-tv-tracking/544540/                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     Tutorials point- How to stop your Smart TV from spying on you  https://www.tutorialapoint.com/how-to-stop-your-smart-tv-from-spying-on-you