Is Your TV Watching You? Vizio Busted for Spying on Customers

[gene]

Vizio has always been a good TV in terms of bang-for-buck. You’d be hard pressed to beat Vizio over the last decade. But on February 6, Vizio went from being the toast of TV buyers everywhere to an electronic spy inside the homes of millions. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that Vizio will pay out a settlement of $2.2 million for illegally selling data collected on some 11-million consumers including viewing habits as well as demographic info on customers.

Learn how to protect yourself from your own smart TV, because it's not just Vizio, just about brand of smart TV has similar capabilities.

Read: Is Your TV Watching You? Vizio Busted for Spying on Customers

 

[TLS Guy]

Another reason not to use the the Smart (dumb) part of a Tv screen. My TVs, have never been connected to the Internet, and never will be.

For all my streaming I use either my HTPC that I built, or my Intel NUC, that I put the RAM, operating and SSD into.

 

[Gys Florian]

"Another reason not to use the the Smart (dumb) part of a Tv screen. My TVs, have never been connected to the Internet, and never will be."

Well said !

I have never connected my TV, Bluray Player and My Yamaha Preamp to internet, and I surely will never do so.
I have never trusted this "smart" things, and had always suspected it can be used to spy on us... Unfortunately this is true, what a sad world :-(

 

[bikdav]

Doesn't anyone make any "dumb" TVs anymore? I don't need any of the "smart" stuff at all.

 

[Pogre]

I have never connected my tv to the internet. I just use it as a monitor and use my AVR for switching.

 

[j_garcia]

I've had my smart tv for almost 7 years. It has never been connected either.

 

[John Nemesh]

In Amerikkka, TV watches YOU!

 

[lovinthehd]

....and what do all you guys do to prevent your phones from doing much worse than a smart tv? LOL.

 

[Pogre]

....and what do all you guys do to prevent your phones from doing much worse than a smart tv? LOL.

I bury mine in a lead box in the back yard when I'm not using it...

 

[Wayde Robson]

I have to admit that before writing this article I didn't care that (one of) my TVs connected to the Internet. I recently followed the directions to turn off the tracking feature on my Sony smart TV.

It's a secondary TV, not main. When it is used, it's primarily by my 4 year old daughter, sometimes my wife. I can't imagine any coherent marketing profile data coming from its use.

My main TV is pre-Smart TV, it's an old Panasonic plasma, still one of the best PQs I've ever seen. I'm not sure even the new LED 4K TVs can beat the black levels and depth of that TV.

 

[brianapp]

The $2.2 million payment by VIZIO includes a payment of $1.5 million to the FTC and $1 million to the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs, with $300,000 of that amount suspended.


Why does The FTC and New Jersey get the money? It should go to the people who have these TVs. It comes off as government extortion when the government collects the money instead of the people who were affected by the issue.