I'm terrified of my new TV

Orwell laughs . . . .

This is crazy, but, I guess I shouldn't be surprised as our phones collect the same stuff in addition to fingerprints. Cue Judge Dredd in 4, 3, 2, 1 . . . .

I’m terrified of my new TV: Why I’m scared to turn this thing on — and you’d be, too - Salon.com

Thursday, Oct 30, 2014 3:26 PM UTC
I’m terrified of my new TV: Why I’m scared to turn this thing on — and you’d be, too
From facial recognition to personal data collection, this thing is downright scary -- and so are the implications
Michael Price

I just bought a new TV. The old one had a good run, but after the volume got stuck on 63, I decided it was time to replace it. I am now the owner of a new “smart” TV, which promises to deliver streaming multimedia content, games, apps, social media and Internet browsing. Oh, and TV too.

The only problem is that I’m now afraid to use it. You would be too — if you read through the 46-page privacy policy.

The amount of data this thing collects is staggering. It logs where, when, how and for how long you use the TV. It sets tracking cookies and beacons designed to detect “when you have viewed particular content or a particular email message.” It records “the apps you use, the websites you visit, and how you interact with content.” It ignores “do-not-track” requests as a considered matter of policy.

It also has a built-in camera — with facial recognition. The purpose is to provide “gesture control” for the TV and enable you to log in to a personalized account using your face. On the upside, the images are saved on the TV instead of uploaded to a corporate server. On the downside, the Internet connection makes the whole TV vulnerable to hackers who have demonstrated the ability to take complete control of the machine.

More troubling is the microphone. The TV boasts a “voice recognition” feature that allows viewers to control the screen with voice commands. But the service comes with a rather ominous warning: “Please be aware that if your spoken words include personal or other sensitive information, that information will be among the data captured and transmitted to a third party.” Got that? Don’t say personal or sensitive stuff in front of the TV.

You may not be watching, but the telescreen is listening.

I do not doubt that this data is important to providing customized content and convenience, but it is also incredibly personal, constitutionally protected information that should not be for sale to advertisers and should require a warrant for law enforcement to access.

Unfortunately, current law affords little privacy protection to so-called “third party records,” including email, telephone records, and data stored in “the cloud.” Much of the data captured and transmitted by my new TV would likely fall into this category. Although one federal court of appeals has found this rule unconstitutional with respect to email, the principle remains a bedrock of modern electronic surveillance.

According to retired Gen. David Petraeus, former head of the CIA, Internet-enabled “smart” devices can be exploited to reveal a wealth of personal data. “Items of interest will be located, identified, monitored, and remotely controlled through technologies such as radio-frequency identification, sensor networks, tiny embedded servers, and energy harvester,” he reportedly told a venture capital firm in 2012. “We’ll spy on you through your dishwasher,” read one headline. Indeed, as the “Internet of Things” matures, household appliances and physical objects will become more networked. Your ceiling lights, thermostat and washing machine — even your socks — may be wired to interact online. The FBI will not have to bug your living room; you will do it yourself.

Of course, there is always the “dumb” option. Users may have the ability to disable data collection, but it comes at a cost. The device will not function properly or allow the use of its high-tech features. This leaves consumers with an unacceptable choice between keeping up with technology and retaining their personal privacy.

We should not have to channel surf worried that the TV is recording our behavior for the benefit of advertisers and police. Companies need to become more mindful of consumer privacy when deciding whether to collect personal data. And law enforcement should most certainly be required to get a warrant before accessing it.

In the meantime, I’ll be in the market for a new tinfoil hat and cone of silence.


Michael Price is counsel in the Liberty and National Security Program at the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law.

 

Dam I miss 1962. Sometimes a lot.

 

Plausible, after all most of us carry a personal tracking device which records our whereabouts every day.

Its' the next logical step. Party members might even be allowed to turn it off for 30 minutes a day.

 

I miss repairing my own tube type TV set.

 

It will not help, if it stores info for data dump. You plug in for upgrades, and it takes care of business, without ever asking you for permission, it just completes it's programmed commands. All you have done is delay delivery of that stored data.

 

In other words....you use none of it's higher functions you paid money for. You would do as well to disable those functions and use it as a crippled device. (Unable to work smoothly/ hobbled).

 

I was 16,owned a car I paid for. No real worries beyond Saturday night. JFK was still alive and THE DANG TOASTER DIDN'T STALK ME!

 

And Fender guitars and amps were at their peak. Surf music, reverb, vibrato, cords . . . .

 

Another reason I don’t use smart TV's or smart phones or Twitter-Facebook-Google-Apple-Yahoo or ATT-Verizon or other big name ISP's:

Fair Use Source: Somebody’s Already Using Verizon’s ID to Track Users.

Somebody’s Already Using Verizon’s ID to Track Users
"Twitter is using a newly discovered hidden code that the telecom carriers are adding to every page you visit – and it’s very hard to opt out.

Twitter's mobile advertising arm enables its clients to use a hidden, undeletable tracking number created by Verizon to track user behavior on smartphones and tablets.

Wired and Forbes reported earlier this week that the two largest cellphone carriers in the United States, Verizon and AT&T, are adding the tracking number to their subscribers' Internet activity, even when users opt out.

The data can be used by any site – even those with no relationship to the telecoms -- to build a dossier about a person's behavior on mobile devices – including which apps they use, what sites they visit and for how long.

MoPub, acquired by Twitter in 2013, bills itself as the "world's largest mobile ad exchange." It uses Verizon's tag to track and target cellphone users for ads, according toinstructions for software developers posted on its website.

Twitter declined to comment.

AT&T said that its actions are part of a test. Verizon says it doesn't sell information about the demographics of people who have opted out.

This controversial type of tracking, known in industry jargon as header enrichment, is the latest step in the mobile industry's quest to track users on their devices. Google has proposed a new standard for Internet services that, among other things, would prevent header enrichment.

People using apps on tablets and smartphones present a challenge for companies that want to track behavior so they can target ads. Unlike on desktop computers, where users tend to connect to sites using a single Web browser that can be easily tracked by "cookies," users on smartphones and tablets use many different apps that do not share information with each other. "

 

I absolutely refuse to purchase appliances that are smart than me.

 

......SmartER than me.

 

What are you an internet troll or an english teacher, either way keep it to yourself.

 

You set the bar so low, the TV just waddled right over.don't take it personal, just having fun with you.

 

definitely a troll. dont take it personal, just having fun with you. The Psychology of the Internet Troll - Academic Earth .

 

grow up.