Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has issued a consumer alert warning residents about smart TVs that may be spying on users, following his lawsuit against Sony, Samsung, LG, Hisense, and TCL for using Automated Content Recognition technology. A temporary restraining order has already been granted against Hisense, and Paxton advised, "I’d urge Texans TV shopping for Christmas to avoid purchasing a television that allows Big Tech to illegally collect your data," according to the Office of the Texas Attorney General.
Paxton emphasized the risks of hidden monitoring, stating, "All across Texas, there are smart TVs acting as an uninvited, invisible digital invaders. It's vital that all Texans know that your TV may be monitoring and recording everything that happens on your screen." His office also provided a general guide for disabling some forms of data collection on smart TVs, as reported by the Office of the Texas Attorney General.
Consumers can protect their privacy on smart TVs by pressing the Home button on the remote, going to Settings, then General, System, or Intelligence. In the privacy options, features like Smart TV Experience, Viewing Information Services, and Automated Content Recognition can be turned off. Some TVs also allow turning off personalized ads or enabling “Do Not Sell My Personal Data.” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton provided these steps amid concerns about data collection by smart devices, as stated by the Office of the Texas Attorney General.
