Amid allegations that LG Electronics surveils users through its TVs, major TV and streaming device makers including Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics have answered questions about how they collect voice and viewing data, foreign media reported.
According to a report by U.S. tech outlet The Verge on the 10th (local time), its reporter sent 17 yes-or-no questions to 11 companies a month ago. The recipients were Amazon, Apple, Google, Hisense, LG, Panasonic, Roku, Samsung, Sony, TCL and Vizio, a Walmart subsidiary. The outlet said it received answers from all three major TV makers and the major streaming device makers. Some companies declined to answer. Hisense did not respond despite five attempts to contact it.
The reporter wrote, "It's not just LG. All TV makers are watching you." The outlet said many TVs identify what viewers watch using automatic content recognition (ACR) technology. This information is used for targeted advertising, collecting viewership metrics and recommending content. However, the outlet added that ACR can generally be turned off even after consent has been given.
The outlet pointed out that opting out may be less effective than expected. According to a recent Northeastern University study, Vizio continued to transmit data even after users opted out. The outlet said Samsung's and Roku's data transmission was limited but did not stop completely. Vizio explained that the data was routine operational data rather than ACR.
Samsung said, "Samsung TVs do not listen to or record private conversations." It explained that the TV's built-in microphone detects only wake words such as "Hi Bixby" on the device. It said the remote control's microphone operates only when a button is pressed. Samsung said it does not store voice recordings or text records on the device. However, it said, "Voice commands and text records are stored on secure servers only to process requests and improve voice assistant services."
LG said, "Voice recognition is off by default and works only if the user agrees to the voice information terms." It explained that wake word detection takes place within the TV device. If no wake word is detected, the voice is deleted immediately and is not stored, converted to text or transmitted. LG said that when voice recognition is turned on and used, commands are sent to LG servers and converted to text.
※ This article was written citing a report by U.S. The Verge dated November 10 (local time).