LG Smart TVs Collect Audio, Video, and Location Data – How to Stop It
What Happened — A two‑hour investigative video by Gamers Nexus revealed that LG smart TVs continuously record microphones, capture screen images, log user activity, and even triangulate home Wi‑Fi signals to determine location. The data is stored locally and then shipped to LG AdSolutions for targeted advertising and analytics. Similar practices are reported across most major TV brands.
Why It Matters for Trust & Control Assurance
- This scenario tests the control objective of privacy‑by‑design and data‑handling consent, which a continuous control‑assurance program must document and audit.
- Demonstrating how you collect, process, and share end‑user data (or limit it) provides defensible evidence for privacy regulations and for internal governance reviews.
- Leveraging Verisq’s CookiePLUS Privacy capability helps you capture consent, enforce data‑minimization policies, and produce audit‑ready logs of TV‑related data flows.
Who Is Affected
- Consumer electronics manufacturers (smart‑TV vendors)
- End‑users of smart TVs in residential environments
- Advertising and analytics partners that ingest TV‑derived data
Recommended Actions
- Review the TV’s privacy settings; disable voice‑control and data‑sharing features where possible.
- Perform a factory reset and re‑configure the device with a segregated network (e.g., VLAN) to limit data exfiltration.
- Deploy a consent‑management solution (e.g., CookiePLUS) to capture user preferences and generate evidence for audit trails.
Technical Notes – The data collection is built into the TV firmware; no known CVE or exploit is required. Audio is captured via always‑on microphones, video snapshots are taken via screen‑capture APIs, and Wi‑Fi signal strength is used for geolocation within ~10 m. Source: ZDNet article