Is your smart TV watching you?

Will not be getting one would rather do without a TV then a new world order one

David999 I see you block Omniture I take it you are not a BT customer like myself. I registered a complaint about it,you see in BT,s new American email service I blocked it and all others using the well liked =adblockplus+ Ghostery . The result =blocked from accessing emails by blackened webpage, I had to allow omiture to access BT Mail. As I have various security programs including paid for ones up comes=this webpage is NOT secure and can be attacked by Jscript viruses. I have 2 other email programmes NONE of them do this.I personally think Which is doing a good job for the public and that is proved by many posters here suddenly getting help from the companies they have trouble with. Now that cant be bad for no financial outlay.

It won’t be long until the TV stops listening if it’s anything like the apps on smart TVs. Orwell had an interesting insight into the future but never predicted the obsolescence of household products.

From the link: “Smart-TV owners would always know if voice activation was turned on because a microphone icon would be visible on the screen, it said.”

Why does this remind me of claims that the Titanic was unsinkable? But all credit to Samsung for letting us know.

This is how Samba TV is described in Wikipedia [probably by itself] :

“Samba TV . . . is a content recommendation engine and viewer tracking application designed for Smart TVs. . . . (It) develops software for televisions, set-top boxes, smart phones and tablets to enable interactive television through personalization. Through its portfolio of applications and TV platform technologies, Samba TV is built directly into the TV or set-top box and will recognize onscreen content—live or time-shifted—and make relevant information available to users at their request. The software will identify what a viewer is watching, and use that information to deliver targeted advertising throughout the household. Through APIs and SDKs for mobile application software developers, Samba TV is usable on a second screen or the TV itself. Samba TV applications are currently . . . available on over 30 million screens in 118 countries.”

Some viewers might like that. Those who watch shopping channels could be attracted.

It seems I will have to post the full report John as it is an extremely “rose tinted ” version you are applying , again-under no circumstances opt-in if you value your privacy , and never complain if you do when you get all those sales emails/ website pop-ups – letters through door-phone calls -24/7.

I have merely quoted what is shown in Wikipedia and, as I said, it reads like the company’s own promo and is probably not the whole truth. Unfortunately this is extremely common in Wikipedia. I am not “applying” it or endorsing it. I have no intention whatsoever of allowing such a process into my television viewing, and you are right to post warnings, but it is not out of place to mention that many people do actually like that sort of additional interaction. I don’t think you need to instruct people what to do or not to do: they have been warned; it’s up to them. Posting a link to the full report [is there no executive summary?] would be useful for those who wish to see the detail.

Have read of this report John , its lighter but its the same person and issue https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/05/business/media/tv-viewer-tracking.html keep in mind a lot of EU/UK identified browsers wont be able to access this NYT article but I will try it after posting it .

I have read it, Duncan. It’s scope is awesome but I can’t decide how potentially harmful it is. At least it’s an opt-in rather than an opt-out protocol. Presumably users can cancel the service but I didn’t see any reference to that.

I suppose it’s a logical development from existing media advertising. A reader of The Times will see a different set of adverts from those in the Daily Sport. Someone who watches Love Island on ITV 2 will see completely different ads to someone watching a Channel 5 documentary at the same time, so there is already a considerable degree of coarse targetting going on but the crucial difference is that it is not personalised. A system like Samba TV takes the guesswork out of classifying viewers, it is extremely refined, and it enables highly personalised approaches [including via other devices in the home] by commercial companies which buy the relevant data from Samba TV.

Have there been any reports in the USA of people objecting to this or complaining about the intrusion that follows their viewing habits?

I wonder whether a Samba TV-type system requires regulatory approval in the UK through Ofcom or the ICO.

Vizio has been fined £2.2 Million from a complaint by the FTC https://eu.usatoday.com/story/tech/talkingtech/2017/02/06/vizio-pay-22m-smart-tv-data-gathering/97553144/ have a read of their “terms ” and note foreigners like ourselves are not covered legally by any US law protecting US citizens from Samba TV ( copyright ) and US Senator’s opinion https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/12/business/media/senators-smart-tv-investigation.html

I find it hard to believe that 90% of viewers opted-in in 2016.

The wording is:
The opt-in read: “Interact with your favorite shows. Get recommendations based on the content you love. Connect your devices for exclusive content and special offers. By cleverly recognizing onscreen content, Samba Interactive TV lets you engage with your TV in a whole new way.”

Sneaky wording? Probably the promise of special offers that did it.

I have checked our new Panasonic and thankfully can’t find Samba or anything similar. We are snooped on far too much already. Viewing figures have to come from somewhere, so I assume Sky records them somehow, but anything more than that is too invasive and will only lead to further invasion of our privacy.

I expect large numbers of viewers clicked on the opt-in out of curiosity because, as you say, the wording is very sneaky and, while it is no doubt the truth, it is not the whole truth.

Vizio’s breach was in not obtaining consent to harvest people’s data.

Is there any evidence that Samba TV or Vizio are active in the UK or do our regulations prohibit [or seriously inhibit] the gathering and resale of viewers’ data?

An interesting question is whether a smart TV actually knows who is watching it. Half the time it could be the cleaning lady.

I wouldn’t disagree with that Vynor , your right about satellite I have been using International satellites for 25 years including our own Astra 28 degrees (Freesat/Sky ) and no they cant communicate UNLESS your sat box is connected to your router using the Ethernet connection at the back . Used mainly for watching foreign porn and the latest films (at a price ) as you need a card to push into the box to decode the data . It can also be used to update the firmware in your box which is usually LInux rather than over the satellite transmission . Smart TV,s can listen into your conversation 24/7 this helps MI5/ CIA etc as well as a mountain of third parties , the problem being unlike a Roku / SKY box smart TV,s are very dumb about protecting your data from hacking online as their “protection ” is as dumb as —-. Hackers can easily access it and listen into your intimate conversation and “noises ” on that lambswool rug beside an open fire or use your data . There is more but I will stop there. Sorry just realised I missed something those with smart TV,s better check if their new model isn’t connected to the IoT -yes its true that voice activated TV,s are able to control other IoT gadgets in your home , on sale in the USA. There is nothing more leaky than the IoT.