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   Your TV is a mass surveillance system says Texas, and the state is suing LG,   
   Samsung, Hisense, TCL, and more to stop it   
      
   Date:   
   Tue, 16 Dec 2025 19:57:38 +0000   
      
   Description:   
   Texas's AG is suing Samsung, LG, TCL, Hisense, and Sony over their apparent   
   use of ACR to deliver custom content and advertising.   
      
   FULL STORY   
      
   Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a suit on Monday against Samsung,   
   Sony, LG, TCL, and Hisense, claiming in a press release that they "have been   
   unlawfully collecting personal data through Automated Content Recognition   
   ("ACR) technology."    
      
   Paxton goes on to label ACR as "an uninvited, invisible digital invader," and   
   in one of the five separately filed suits , he calls Samsung TVs "a mass   
   surveillance system."    
      
   What is ACR? The now more than a decade-old technology has a long history   
   dating back to Shazam's use in 2011 and another company, Samba TV, which   
   patented its own ACR tech that same year. Most of the early uses revolved   
   around sound and music recognition. The technology ultimately added image or   
   snapshot collection (and image recognition) and eventually made its way to 4K   
   smart TVs.   
      
   What ACR does and why you might worry    
      
   Companies like LG, Hisense, Samsung, and others apparently now use ACR to   
   identify what you're watching and connect you with relevant content,   
   marketing, and advertising.    
      
   Paxton's suit claims that these ACR systems can capture screenshots of    
   viewing habits as often as every 500 milliseconds and that the TV   
   manufacturers "transmit that information back to the company without the    
   users knowledge or consent."    
      
   Generally, though, data specific to who you are, like name, photos, address,   
   etc, are not part of that delivery. Instead, third-party partners get   
   information about content interests, and TVs or TV companies act as    
   middlemen, delivering related content recommendations and advertising.    
      
   This is not the first time ACR systems have run afoul of the law. Back in   
   2017, Vizo paid a $2 million fine to the FTC to settle a claim that it was   
   monitoring viewing histories without proper consent .    
      
   There is no question that these systems exist. On a test LG TV in our labs,    
   we spent some time navigating to a well-hidden Live Plus setting (images in   
   article link below).   
      
   Live Plus is LG's version of ACR, and, as LG describes it, when you enable    
   it, "the content displayed on your TV can be recognized, and the viewing   
   information may be used to provide you with an enhanced viewing experience    
   and personalized services including content recommendations and   
   advertisements."    
      
   We never enabled Live Plus, and it appeared to be on by default. However,    
   it's also possible that during setup, the TV may have asked if we'd like "an   
   enhanced and personalized viewing experience."  Who wouldn't say yes to that?   
      
   Paxton's concerns, though, go beyond mere advertising and marketing. He notes   
   that some of these TV companies, like TCL and Hisense, are based in China.   
   "Companies, especially those connected to the Chinese Communist Party, have    
   no business illegally recording Americans devices inside their own homes,    
   said Paxton in the release.   
      
   What's next    
      
   When we contacted the manufacturers for comment, TCL told us  it "does not   
   comment on active litigation." Sony told us, "it does not comment on pending   
   legal matters." Hisense told us, "Hisense stands by the high quality of its   
   products. Per company policy, we are unable to comment further on topics of a   
   litigious nature." We have yet to hear back from Samsung and LG.    
      
   Whatever happens with this lawsuit, it might be a good time to check on your   
   smart TVs ACR settings, see if they're enabled, and perhaps turn them off if   
   you don't want one of these companies watching what you're watching.    
      
   Most reports we read, said that disabling ACR turns off all communications   
   between the TVs and ACR servers. Just remember, the next ads and TV show   
   recommendations you see on your smart TV may have little to do with your   
   interests.    
      
   ======================================================================   
   Link to news story:   
   https://www.techradar.com/televisions/your-tv-is-a-mass-surveillance-system-sa   
   ys-texas-and-the-state-is-suing-lg-samsung-hisense-tcl-and-more-to-stop-it   
      
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