216M Spy TVs – The LG Smart TV Problem [video] • Hacker News Board

Re: 216M Spy TVs – The LG Smart TV Problem [video]

#141

Post by rickdeckard » Mon, Sep 07, 2026, 10:52 AM UTC

This is quite a mixed set of topics mangled together, which is a pity because IMO a cleaner separation would be more beneficial to get the point across.

1. The Ad data-collecting platform TV-manufacturers are operating, what data they collect and how they use it.

2. The vulnerabilities of the OS in a SmartTV, and the potential issues to exploit them for malicious purposes.

3. The general behavior of the device when connected to your network, with features like voice control, App control, Smart Home etc. enabled, and how it may expose information about yourself.

All the points and scenarios in the video might be valid, but they are not sufficiently grouped into one of the above categories.

Instead, it just mixes them all together to imply that its all the same, weakening the whole investigation.

--

The plain example: Using voice-input for a web-search on the TV [0], make long pauses and observe how it keeps populating the prompt-UI with everything you say. This is a matter of #3 above, accusing a malicious intent already on such a trivial implementation topic is harming the whole story

[0] https://youtu.be/6IFVTcM28KA?si=oVqX6NtkxPmqh6R-&t=2951

Re: 216M Spy TVs – The LG Smart TV Problem [video]

#142

Post by shevy-java » Mon, Sep 07, 2026, 10:53 AM UTC

These are spy devices. It is sad that the industry has become so addicted to sniffing - the problem I see is that they can no longer stop doing so, as they built an additional network around that yielding money to them.

Re: 216M Spy TVs – The LG Smart TV Problem [video]

#143

Post by AnssiH » Mon, Sep 07, 2026, 10:53 AM UTC

jck86 wrote: post #101

polotics wrote: post #45

GDPR compliance lawsuitssss in 3...

Somehow the EU only appears to target big wealthy service providers. I wonder why.

CMS has a public tracker of GDPR fines (https://www.enforcementtracker.com/) listing over 3000 cases, most are companies HN readers have not heard of.

Re: 216M Spy TVs – The LG Smart TV Problem [video]

#144

Post by simoncion » Mon, Sep 07, 2026, 10:53 AM UTC

8fingerlouie wrote: post #119

Eji1700 wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And then your neighbor spins up an unprotected network or something like xfinity which they could have a deal with and it connects there and phones home anyways.

And what exactly would they use that particular access path for ? I could see a threat if the TV had access to the internet and could establish a TLS tunnel or similar from the mothership, and execute commands on my LAN (or IoT network as it stands), and report back. That could establish a command & control channel that could potentially orchestrate an attack on my infrastructure via the TV. However, reporting that "…

> And what exactly would they use that particular access path for ?

Uploading the weeks, months, or years of locally-stored activity [0] data? Text compresses really well and local storage used to be very cheap.

[0] ...mic voice transcription, how often you use the thing, for how long, and a best guess (because of lack of time sync) at when, "automated content detection" logs [1], names of files you've fed to the thing, -if equipped with a camera- number of people in the room and interesting information about them, etc, etc, etc...

[1] ...assuming that that can be done with data loaded from the factory, which I kinda doubt...

Re: 216M Spy TVs – The LG Smart TV Problem [video]

#145

Post by shevy-java » Mon, Sep 07, 2026, 10:54 AM UTC

rickdeckard wrote: post #141

This is quite a mixed set of topics mangled together, which is a pity because IMO a cleaner separation would be more beneficial to get the point across. 1. The Ad data-collecting platform TV-manufacturers are operating, what data they collect and how they use it. 2. The vulnerabilities of the OS in a SmartTV, and the potential issues to exploit them for malicious purposes. 3. The general behavior of the device when c…

I find your "summary" much harder to read and understand, though.

I prefer the original article and the net-benefit of a google-linked video to explain things that already were properly explained, is rather small, at best, in my opinion.

Re: 216M Spy TVs – The LG Smart TV Problem [video]

#146

Post by medwards666 » Mon, Sep 07, 2026, 10:54 AM UTC

pferde wrote: post #138

medwards666 wrote: post #115

This sort of blanket data collection needs to be made illegal in every single jurisdiction, and have _very_ robust penalties for anyone found in breach of them.

And those jurisdictions need to have people not susceptible to bribery or extortion by the corporations making those data collection devices. That's a big ask.

True. But corruption by those in positions of power and influence is a problem as old as the ages, sadly. But at least there _are_ rules and penalties in place for those caught so there's an element of risk. Whereas the blanket data harvesting by corporations currently appears to go utterly unabated.

Re: 216M Spy TVs – The LG Smart TV Problem [video]

#147

Post by CommanderData » Mon, Sep 07, 2026, 10:55 AM UTC

I posted two comments on similar threads recently. This is only going to get worse.

> Not long until companies partner with Amazon and others to send traffic automatically through their near-by devices like smart speakers, disconnecting will be impossible.

Not surprised if this is happening already. I don't want to remove radios out my TV..

> Samba, a media intelligence company have several partnerships with manufacturers to take screenshots and collect metadata.

Viewer analytics are valuable to companies like Samba, they aren't the only ones. Laws ASAP, these companies will lobby hard to stop anything of the sort.

Re: 216M Spy TVs – The LG Smart TV Problem [video]

#148

Post by medwards666 » Mon, Sep 07, 2026, 10:55 AM UTC

prmph wrote: post #88

Just don't buy a smart TV. Buy a good "dumb" TV (or just get a good large monitor), then hook it up to a set top box (with TV capabilities as needed).

... and that's the trick, isn't it. Have you ever tried going into an electrical store and buying a dumb TV any time recently?

Re: 216M Spy TVs – The LG Smart TV Problem [video]

#149

Post by Anoian » Mon, Sep 07, 2026, 10:55 AM UTC

touwer wrote: post #139

Funny, published on a site with 1745 'partners' who fully respect our privacy of course

Respect for the consumer has long been gone generally except for a few brands.

I am still wondering why consumer respecting brands are not emerging more and thriving.

Re: 216M Spy TVs – The LG Smart TV Problem [video]

#150

Post by HelloUsername » Mon, Sep 07, 2026, 10:56 AM UTC

8fingerlouie wrote: post #110

HelloUsername wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

All of your blocking still doesn't change the fact that your LG TV is actively trying to scan your local hardware, gathering IP-addresses of devices, wi-fi names and signal strengths, creating digital finger prints of the audio and video projected on your screen, recording audio through the internal microphone, even when the TV is in standby or without an internet connection, saving the collected data locally and upl…

But it's never connected to the internet, not even for software updates. If the TV isn't connected to the internet there's no reason to update it, assuming the TV works as expected. It's a trade off I guess. I use Home Assistant to control TVs, so kinda need the access.

Again, what I mean is, even if you're able to block all these things, the company LG is still secretly and actively trying to collect and process user data, without user awareness or consent.