Posted on 11/05/2014 1:52:52 PM PST by Lorianne
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 General 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.
As long as you wear a bathrobe or pajamas when watching TV as you should be when in front of your computer, you should be OK.......
As a side note, WE can see you too........
my husband used duct tape to repair everything, including one of the kids bikes....
Today a Thought Policeman does not need to stare at your telescreen. A computer does that by staring at thousands of telescreens and ignoring everything unimportant. Important events are flagged, automatically recognized, and presented for human review. This way one *can* have 100% surveillance.
With regard to WiFi, I would not be quick to declare victory by not configuring one. First, there may be open networks nearby that the TV may connect on its own. Second, GSM modules are cheap, and if there is sufficient interest such a module can be instructed to transmit over the cell phone network, bypassing your Internet (OnStar works like that.)
An EE or a tech could probably disable all these features by physically removing the camera and the microphone. Covering them up with tape may feel good, but you never know where really those devices are - it may be that you covered up a fake lens.
The absolute best solution is to have no TV at all. Internet is perfectly capable of keeping you informed. I have an old LCD TV, but it is not used, except when relatives come visiting. If you must have a TV, you may want to get a TV tuner, like HDHomeRun, and watch TV on any computer, tablet, or phone in your house. I have one, and it is functional... but not used, as I don't have a need for TV. These tuners are receive-only.
Well as the famous Red Green of Canada tv fame says...
If the girls don’t find ya handsome, they should at least find ya handy....
YUP. 1984 is the first thing I thought of. My Sony has WiFi capability but it’s not connected ( I don’t think!!!!)
Your smartphones, cars, etc are also tracking you.
I like my tv dumb. If it has wireless set the router to ignore it.
Wonder if he has a current generation smartphone. If so, his privacy has already gone out the window.
You can cover up the camera.
This is Big Brother through the back door. Before long, law enforcement will subpoena the records.
LOL
Gaffers tape.
ping
That’s raciest
Hook it to a computer for the ‘advanced features’ Then it is basically a big dumb monitor.
My TV is run by a Vista generation Acer computer that my kid found for me for 25 bucks... Has BlueRay DvD, and I upgraded the network to gigabit, and gave it a 2gig vid card.
Sweet.
Often times, the coax cable connection is as good as hooking to the internet.
Ten years ago, I ditched cable and bought an antenna...for many reasons, and this just reinforces my decision.
I guess. What about the speaker?
That works fine except for naked Tuesdays. So you can’t watch TV naked Tuesdays I guess.
Or one of those "sound bar" speakers. Most flat-panel TVs have an Audio Out jack on them, and allow you to select internal or external speakers in the setup menu.
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