As smart televisions have become a fixture in American living rooms, concerns about how much information they gather have grown sharper. While consumer advocates have offered tips on limiting data collection, Texas officials are now taking the issue to court, arguing that the problem goes far beyond complicated settings menus.
This week, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton initiated legal action against five major television manufacturers—Sony, Samsung, LG, Hisense, and TCL—accusing them of unlawfully monitoring what residents watch inside their homes. The lawsuits claim the companies are “spying on Texans by secretly recording what consumers watch in their own homes.”
At the center of the complaints is Automated Content Recognition, or ACR, a technology embedded in many smart TVs. According to the filings, ACR allows televisions to capture images of what appears on the screen and transmit that information back to the manufacturer, enabling what the state describes as “real time” tracking of viewing habits without clear user awareness or permission.
Texas argues that this data collection feeds directly into the modern TV business model, where operating systems and advertising platforms generate significant revenue. Targeted ads rely on detailed viewer profiles, and ACR is sometimes activated by default. Consumer advocates have noted that disabling it can be difficult, with options hidden deep within complicated menu systems that vary by manufacturer.
The attorney general’s office has also highlighted the global implications of the practice. In a press release announcing the lawsuits, Paxton pointed out that Hisense and TCL are headquartered in China, asserting that “these Chinese ties pose serious concerns about consumer data.” The release adds that China’s National Security Law “gives its government the capability to get its hands on U.S. consumer data.”
Those warnings echo earlier debates in Washington. Similar fears about American user data being accessible to Beijing underpinned legislation passed in 2024 aimed at forcing ByteDance, TikTok’s China-based parent company, to divest or face a nationwide ban.
In their court filings, Texas officials draw comparisons to earlier eras of audience measurement. Decades ago, Nielsen compensated participants who allowed their listening or viewing habits to be tracked. The lawsuits argue that today’s consumers receive no such compensation, even as their data is harvested quietly and continuously—aside from the benefit of increasingly inexpensive large-screen televisions.
The complaints also trace the evolution of media monitoring back to the 1930s and 1940s, when Nielsen researchers physically collected tapes from devices attached to radios that recorded dial changes. Texas argues that modern ACR systems are far more invasive than those early tools.
Although opting out of ACR is technically possible, the state says it is unrealistic for most users. In its case against Hisense, Texas alleges that “opt-out rights are scattered across four or more separate menus which requires over 200 clicks to read through in full on the TV,” and that key license terms are presented only during the initial setup process.
The lawsuits include diagrams illustrating how ACR systems gather and transmit data. Texas maintains that the stakes extend beyond consumer privacy into national security. In the Hisense filing, the state notes that company terms allow data transfers to the People’s Republic of China, then advances a broader argument about potential misuse.
From the lawsuit:
The CCP may use the ACR data it collects from its Smart TVs to influence or compromise public figures in Texas, including judges, elected officials, and law enforcement, and for corporate espionage by surveilling those employed in critical infrastructure, as part of the CCP’s long-term plan to destabilize and undermine American democracy.
The focus on possible blackmail of public officials has raised eyebrows, particularly given Paxton’s own political history. While the attorney general faced impeachment proceedings in 2023 and allegations of an extramarital affair surfaced during that period, he was ultimately acquitted. Coverage by Austin’s KUT News reported that those personal allegations featured prominently during the trial.
Despite that backdrop, Paxton framed the lawsuits as a clear-cut defense of privacy. “Companies, especially those connected to the Chinese Communist Party, have no business illegally recording Americans’ devices inside their own homes,” Paxton said in a statement posted online announcing the new lawsuits.
“This conduct is invasive, deceptive, and unlawful. The fundamental right to privacy will be protected in Texas because owning a television does not mean surrendering your personal information to Big Tech or foreign adversaries.”
{Matzav.com}
