German consumer group complains that Samsung TVs harvest personally identifiable information

In 2016, Verbraucherzentrale NRW, a consumer protection organisation in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia accused Samsung of harvesting data and sending it back to the company over the internet without informing users as soon as its smart televisions are connected to the internet. The complaint specifies the model UE40H6270. The group wants Samsung to default to an anonymous setting rather than transmit information including the show being watched, the time of date, and the user's IP address, which could identify them. The mechanism at issue is the red button on TV remotes, which transmits data when pressed, in conformance with the Hybrid broadcast broadband TV standard. Verbraucherzcentrale argued that Samsung should inform users about the data it collects and how it is used.

https://www.dw.com/en/samsung-tv-data-protection-court-case-in-germany-is-a-wake-up-call-from-the-past/a-19264028

Writer: Zulfikar Abbany

Publication: DW