LG responds to allegations of TV spying
LG said that its smart TVs do not continuously record or transmit users’ conversations. The manufacturer responded to reports by Gamers Nexus, Level1Techs, and independent security researchers that LG TVs collect and upload user data, The Verge reports.
LG’s position
In a statement, LG said that detection of the voice AI assistant’s wake word is processed locally on the device. The company also claims that automatic content recognition, voice recognition, and interest-based advertising features are optional and not enabled by default.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
According to LG, the Automatic Content Recognition system uses audio fingerprints processed by the TV’s internal audio processor to identify content. The company said that this feature does not collect screenshots, screen recordings, video recordings, voice recordings, or other audio recordings from the TV.
Researchers’ findings
At the same time, Gamers Nexus demonstrated that an LG TV retained detailed logs of background conversations long after the AI assistant was supposedly meant to stop listening. As The Verge notes, in its response LG did not comment on broader questions about the volume of data collected, the parties with which the company shares it, the possibility of malicious actors using these features, and how privacy settings are presented.
