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

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

#921

Post by trashb »

jjav wrote: post #915
phkahler wrote: post #832

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ask LG who has agreed to their wiretapping. They can't tell you if some guest in front of a TV has agreed or not. How can that be concent?

Because LG is a large corporation and if there is something we have learned (or had proven) in 2026 is that laws don't apply if you oligarch hard enough.

Actually LG is not just a large corporation or even a oligarch, it is one of the major south korean chaebol groups and therefore has way more power in the legal and political space.

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

#922

Post by alex_duf »

holowoodman wrote: post #334
alex_duf wrote: post #292

What would the HN crowd recommend for a good linux streaming box + hardware with decent TV UX and remote? My LG is completely offline and I'm using an nvidia shield to display any content, but I'm thinking maybe I need to go the extra mile, there nothing preventing an android tv box to do the same.

> My LG is completely offline Are you sure? They will seek out open WiFi and other neighboring LG TVs as relays.

yeah no open wifi in sight, MAC address is banned at the router level, but I appreciate the concern

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

#923

Post by alex_duf »

cr3ative wrote: post #347
alex_duf wrote: post #292

What would the HN crowd recommend for a good linux streaming box + hardware with decent TV UX and remote? My LG is completely offline and I'm using an nvidia shield to display any content, but I'm thinking maybe I need to go the extra mile, there nothing preventing an android tv box to do the same.

Apple TV.

To the risk of contradicting myself, the less time I got, the more tempting it's been to jump into Apple's ecosystem. I love the hardware, I appreciate Apple's apparent care for privacy, but I just love my linux too much both in terms of UX and for what it represents.

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

#924

Post by trashb »

Obscurity4340 wrote: post #605
Animats wrote: post #572

Here are LG's contract terms for appliances.[1] They are awful. Not only can they listen in. You have a contractual requirement to tell everyone in range of an appliance that they may be eavesdropped upon. CONSENT REQUIREMENT: You acknowledge and agree that it is your sole responsibility to obtain all necessary consents from any third parties whose voices may be captured by the Product and to notify household members…

Can you actually even turn and keep the microphone off or does it toggle itself back on like Apple's Wifi and Bluetooth one-touch toggle off for now buttons?

There is a reason why Snowden cuts the internal microphones and cameras out of his mobile phones. I suppose you can permanently turn off the TV's microphone(or microphones) in the same fashion.

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

#925

Post by hatch_q »

korzinka wrote: post #107

I've bought an LG Smart TV 5 years ago, read t&c where I was supposed to grant them any data they wanted, decided to disagree and kept all network functions disabled. I was ridiculed by my friends for that. At some point, I thought - maybe I'm really crazy to do so? Who am I, a caveman, a luddite? Oh well, I'm not. Not a bad tv though, many HDMI ports!

Same. And one of my requirements was that i can use HDMI ports without agreeing to TOS. Most android TVs do not allow this at all, LG did.

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

#926

Post by hatch_q »

klausa wrote: post #852
dylan604 wrote: post #346

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you're only using it as a screen for the AppleTV, why connect it to the network at all?

So I can turn it on/off using Home Assistant and my phone.

Why not use cheap $10 IR blaster for that? it will connect to home assistant in same manner.

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

#927

Post by Netcob »

Am I glad I blocked my CX from 2020 very early from accessing the internet!

Looked into rooting - my old firmware would be ideal, but other than a native ambient lighting tap I don't really see anything worth my time. That model probably doesn't have a wide field mic yet to use for home automation.

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

#928

Post by d1sxeyes »

TonyStr wrote: post #899
godelski wrote: post #870

Earlier quoted context omitted.

IANAL, but I believe the argument is that agreeing to the TOS constitutes consent. Even though no reasonable person would believe such a thing would be in the TOS and no reasonable person reads the full TOS (no person actually could...). Perhaps we start suing one another for not disclosing the wire tapping, forcing the lawsuit upwards towards LG. It'd be more efficient to sue LG, but lawyers don't seem to be done th…

IANAL, but only the owner can consent through the TOS. The owner does not collect or process the data, so it's entirely on LG to ensure proper consent, not the owner. Breaking a TOS is not a crime, and can only be punished by restricting or disallowing access to a service, but collecting personal data without consent is a huge problem in the EU.

It’s clearly unreasonable to assume that LG can know and procure consent from everyone you choose to allow into your living room.

It’s reasonable to push the burden of procuring that consent onto whoever controls entry to the space, with terms like this.

As a thought experiment, let’s take a service like Zoom where you can record video of participants. It’s reasonable to say “you’re operating the camera, if someone appears in the background, it’s your responsibility to make sure they’re informed and consent to the recording”. In fact, trying to establish the identity of the person in the background for the purposes of procuring consent is probably a greater intrusion on privacy than not.

The problem here is different. The problem is that the volume of data being collected is clearly unnecessary for achieving the purposes it’s intended for.

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

#929

Post by ashkankiani »

computably wrote: post #564
sbarre wrote: post #559

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> my conclusion after dealing with them for many years is they will lie, cheat, and steal to get whatever they want Honestly, it's not even that extreme in most cases. I think it's usually not malice, it's incompetence. That's why I don't trust big companies with my data. Nothing to do with some CEO's evil plans, but more to do with the hundreds/thousands of mid-level "not my job" or "doing my best" workers who are a…

> Nothing to do with some CEO's evil plans, but more to do with the hundreds/thousands of mid-level "not my job" or "doing my best" workers who are actually in charge of handling my data. The CEO is responsible for what their company does. If a major breach can occur through the oversight or "incompetence" of one worker, the CEO has already failed, whether through negligence or malice.

In China, CEOs go to prison or are executed. Not all the time, but enough. In the US, they are given a golden parachute and make more money at their next posting. There is mostly only failing upwards.

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

#930

Post by elp »

duped wrote: post #856
johnnyanmac wrote: post #584

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We don't really have alternatives, period. LG is the one in the news today, but pretty much any TV this decade has been doing similar things. Computer monitors max out at 32 inches and the idea of a modern dumb TV is non-existent.

I meant alternatives to connecting your TV directly to the internet. As in "why would you ever connect your TV to the internet?" is a stupid question - "because I want to watch things on the internet." And it's not like a roku, firetv, or chrome cast dongle is much different (and Apple TV is $200, normal people don't add 20-50% the cost of their TV to do something built in). > the idea of a modern dumb TV is non-exis…

A cheap 4k generic android media box is less than $70 on Amazon. There are dozens of them. I use one because half the apps on my old smart TV don't work anymore. The android ones are always up to date and the UX is better.

Is there any TV on the market that flat out wont work if it can't see the internet?

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