Texas Sues Samsung, Sony, LG, Hisense, and TCL Over Alleged Smart TV Surveillance

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has launched a sweeping legal offensive against five of the world's largest consumer electronics manufacturers, filing lawsuits against Sony, Samsung, LG, Hisense, and TCL. The state alleges these companies have engaged in deceptive trade practices by turning millions of smart televisions into unauthorized "mass surveillance systems" that silently record and monetize user activity in the privacy of their homes.



The core of the lawsuits targets the industry-wide use of Automated Content Recognition (ACR) technology. According to the petitions, this software operates as an "uninvited, invisible digital invader" that continuously captures screenshots and audio fingerprints of whatever is displayed on the screen. The filings detail how this technology monitors content across all inputs—meaning the surveillance isn't limited to the TV's built-in apps, but also keeps tabs on content played through cable boxes, gaming consoles, and streaming devices like the Apple TV connected via HDMI.


The state claims the surveillance is relentless and granular. While the lawsuits against Samsung, Sony, TCL, and Hisense describe a mechanism that captures screen data as frequently as every 500 milliseconds, the complaint against LG alleges an even more aggressive collection rate of every 10 milliseconds. With that data in hand, the lawsuits allege the companies build detailed dossiers on their users. The state claims these profiles go far beyond viewing habits, inferring sensitive information like political leanings, religious beliefs, health status, and sexual orientation to be sold off to advertisers and data brokers.

Attorney General Paxton argues that the companies utilize "dark patterns" and deceptive interface designs to trick consumers into enabling these features during the initial setup process. The lawsuits characterize this as a "Roach Motel" strategy where opting in requires a single click to "Agree to All," while opting out involves navigating deeply buried menus. The filing against LG, for instance, claims that while enrollment takes just one click, a user would need to navigate through more than 40 clicks across various menus to fully disable the tracking. Similarly, the suit against Hisense alleges users must click more than 20 times just to find the disclosure that reveals "Enhanced Viewing Service" is actually ACR technology.

The manufacturers are accused of obfuscating ACR functions behind innocuous or misleading names to avoid alerting users to the true nature of the data collection. Sony allegedly labels the tracking features as "Interactive TV Settings" or "Samba Interactive TV," while Samsung calls it "Viewing Information Services." The state argues these labels fail to inform users that they are consenting to continuous real-time monitoring of every pixel on their screen. The petition against Samsung explicitly calls the company's Viewing Information Services Notice a "bald-faced lie" for representing that the company neither collects video footage nor content displayed on the device.

The filings against TCL and Hisense raise specific national security concerns due to the companies' close ties to China. The Attorney General's office warns that China's National Security Law obligates these manufacturers to hand over U.S. consumer data to the Chinese government upon request. The petition against TCL goes so far as to state that the company's TVs are "effectively Chinese-sponsored surveillance devices" that expose users to potential cyber breaches and data exfiltration, noting that TCL has received billions in state funding to dominate global tech markets.


"Companies, especially those connected to the Chinese Communist Party, have no business illegally recording Americans' devices inside their own homes," said Attorney General Paxton in a statement. "This conduct is invasive, deceptive, and unlawful. The fundamental right to privacy will be protected in Texas because owning a television does not mean surrendering your personal information to Big Tech or foreign adversaries."

The lawsuits seek significant civil penalties and a permanent injunction to stop the alleged data collection without express, informed consent. Texas is asking for up to $10,000 for each violation of the Deceptive Trade Practices Act, a figure that increases to $250,000 per violation if the consumer is elderly. This legal action is part of a broader crackdown on digital privacy in the state. Texas recently enforced strict regulations regarding online safety, which forced Apple to release new developer tools to comply with a law requiring age verification for app downloads. The Attorney General's office stated it will continue to investigate companies that engage in deceptive practices or compromise data security.

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