Texas reaches settlement with LG in smart TV privacy lawsuit

AG Ken Paxton said the settlement helps protect Texans from unlawful surveillance inside their own homes.

AUSTIN, Texas — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has reached a settlement with electronics company LG over concerns about smart TV privacy.

The attorney general sued LG and four other major TV makers last year, accusing them of secretly spying on Texans.

The agreement stops LG from collecting viewing data through automated content recognition technology without users’ consent. Under the settlement, LG must add a pop-up disclosure on smart TVs explaining how viewing data may be collected and used. The company must also give users a clear way to opt out of data collection.

The agreement also prohibits viewing data transfers to the Chinese Communist Party.

LG does not admit to any liability or wrongdoing in the agreement.

Paxton said the settlement helps protect Texans from unlawful surveillance inside their own homes.

“LG has now taken important steps to ensure that users’ viewing data will not be collected without their informed consent and that consumers maintain their fundamental right to privacy in their own homes,” said Paxton in a statement. “No electronics company should be collecting consumers’ data and exposing Texans to potential surveillance by the Chinese government. I am pleased to see that after my office took action, smart TV companies are doing what is necessary to protect Texans. I will continue to work to aggressively hold other smart TV companies accountable for unlawfully using ACR technology to put consumers at risk.”

A spokesperson for LG told KVUE the company is “committed to protecting…

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