{"id":89683,"date":"2025-12-16T06:51:11","date_gmt":"2025-12-16T06:51:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/89683\/"},"modified":"2025-12-16T06:51:11","modified_gmt":"2025-12-16T06:51:11","slug":"texas-ag-paxton-sues-tv-companies-for-spying","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/89683\/","title":{"rendered":"Texas AG Paxton sues TV companies for spying"},"content":{"rendered":"

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing five television companies, including two based in China, for spying on Texans and secretly recording what they watch in their homes through a technology called Automated Content Recognition (ACR).\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The five companies named in the lawsuits are Sony, Samsung, LG, Hisense, TCL Technology Group Corporation.<\/p>\n

Newsweek contacted Sony, Samsung and LG, and representatives of the Chinese companies Hisense and TCL, by email seeking comment. A spokesman for LG said the company does not comment on pending legal matters.<\/p>\n

Why It Matters<\/p>\n

Paxton says the five companies have been unlawfully collecting personal data through ACR technology, which he described as \u201can uninvited, invisible digital invader.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many homes have the technology built into their devices, and Paxton\u2019s lawsuit will raise fundamental questions about automation and the benefits it can offer, the risks to privacy, and the dangers of surveillance. According to Visual Capitalist, 40 million TVs are sold in the U.S. each year, and these five major brands involved in the Texas lawsuit account for nearly 70 percent of the brands users reported having as their “main” TV. <\/p>\n

What To Know<\/p>\n

ACR technology can detect and retrieve information from digital devices, such as televisions, and it can help providers with a range of functions, such as customization and intellectual property protection.<\/p>\n

Paxton said in a post on social media he was suing the five companies, including one connected to the Chinese Communist Party, \u201cfor spying on Texans.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCompanies, especially those connected to the Chinese Communist Party, have no business illegally recording Americans\u2019 devices inside their own homes,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis software can capture screenshots of a user\u2019s television display every 500 milliseconds, monitoring viewing activity in real time, and transmit that information back to the company without the user\u2019s knowledge or consent. The companies then sell that consumer\u00a0 information to target ads,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis technology puts users\u2019 privacy and sensitive information, such as passwords, bank information, and other personal information at risk.\u201d<\/p>\n

Republican Paxton has been a prominent attorney general in recent years, gaining attention with numerous lawsuits over immigration policies.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In October, he announced an undercover investigation aimed at infiltrating what he called “leftist terror cells” in his state<\/a>, in the wake of a rise in political violence.<\/p>\n

Paxton is also hoping to win a seat in the Senate next year.<\/p>\n

According to a poll released on December 3, he slightly trails Senator John Cornyn but leads Representative Wesley Hunt in the state’s Republican primary race for U.S. Senate.<\/p>\n

What People Are Saying<\/p>\n

Paxton, referring to ACR, said: \u201cThis 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

All five lawsuits filed against the companies say: \u201cWhen families buy a television, they don\u2019t expect it to spy on them. They don\u2019t expect their viewing habits packaged and auctioned to advertisers.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

What Happens Next<\/p>\n

The lawsuits are expected to make their way through the courts.<\/p>\n

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