LG has released an extensive statement denying claims made in a damning report that its smart TVs spy on users. But the authors of the original report have responded in turn, accusing LG of lying.
In the original video, YouTube channel Gamers Nexus claimed that LG TVs are capable of recording private conversations even when no wake word has been spoken. It also accused the company of collecting sensitive data such as IP addresses, the geographic location of the TV, and details of nearby wi-fi networks and the names of devices connected to them (even if they’re not connected to the TV).
The report includes demonstrations of the claims made, and was conducted in conjunction with tech site Level1 Techs and independent cybersecurity researchers.
LG’s statement says that such reporting has led to “misconceptions about how LG smart TVs work”. The company claims that “LG smart TVs do not continuously record or transmit users’ conversations,” though some commenters have noted the use of the word “continuously”.
“Speech-to-text processing begins only if a user activates a voice interaction through a supported wake-word feature or by pressing the voice (or AI) button on the remote control,” LG goes on. While the TVs must always be listening in order to detect a wake word, the statement says that this audio is “processed locally on the TV” and if no wake word is detected, “audio is not converted to text, stored, or transmitted”.
“Voice-recognition results and related technical logs may be generated as part of processing a voice command,” it adds. “These records are associated with specific voice interactions and do not indicate continuous recording of conversations occurring outside an active voice recognition session.”
While “speech-recognition results may be used to support voice-related features,” they are “not uploaded later when the TV is offline or when connectivity is restored.”
The statement notes that the automatic content recognition (ACR) feature is optional and not enabled by default. ACR has proved controversial, as it detects what’s on screen in order to improve recommendations or sell that information to advertisers.
LG’s statement then goes on to detail how various features of its smart TVs work. It notes that “No connected product is ever completely immune from security vulnerabilities.” Some of Gamers Nexus’s claims would rely on a bad actor hacking the TV to gain control over it.
But that’s not the end of the story. Gamers Nexus has since responded with a bullish follow-up video, claiming that LG’s statement contradicts itself and that its denials are not evidence-based.
We have contacted LG to see if it has a response to that response.
The report has caused a storm in the TV world, and – judging from some of the comments – consumers aren’t happy about how invasive smart TVs are capable of being. LG executives saying it “owns the glass” and “owns the TV” in an attempt to attract advertisers isn’t a good look, especially for anyone who has just shelled out thousands of pounds for a new C6.
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