A new report by the U.S.-based Center for Digital Democracy has slammed the average smart TV as a “privacy nightmare” and is calling on the Federal Trade Commission to take action against the television industry.
In the report, the CDD claims that the entire TV industry has built up a “sinister surveillance system” that undermines consumer privacy and consumer protections. It notes that users don’t just pay for video streaming services via their subscription fees, but also by surrendering vast amounts of data to those organizations. It complains of a “connected television media and marketing system” that has “unprecedented capabilities” in terms of “surveillance and manipulation.”
In the report, the CDD notes that streaming, or “connected TV”, is now the most popular way in which U.S. consumers access television content. It says TV makers and streaming providers have essentially colluded to transform consumer’s smart TVs into a “sophisticated monitoring, tracking and targeting device."
As one example, it says that the ad-supported streaming service Tubi’s entire business model is based on the concept of harvesting rich and detailed information about each viewer. It feeds this information into its advertising services, so its advertising partners can better target consumers. In addition, it leverages the data it collects to support what content is recommended to each user, and even the products featured in the shows they watch.
Worse, the CDD says Tubi is not the only streaming provider guilty of doing this. It accuses Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+ of doing the same thing.
According to the report, the streaming industry has “deliberately incorporated many of the data-surveillance marketing practices that have long undermined privacy and consumer protection in the 'older' world of social media, search engines, mobile phones and video services.”
It goes on to slate streaming companies for forcing American consumers to accept “unfair terms” in order to access their content, threatening their privacy. In addition, it says the ways companies use the information they harvest can potentially restrict user’s access to certain types of content, as it’s used by algorithms to narrow down their recommendations. So someone who doesn’t view many documentaries might not ever see a recommendation for one, and documentaries won’t appear in any of the curated programme lists on the menus they see either, the CDD explained.
In the report, the CDD calls on the U.S. government to take action against the TV industry and ensure more robust privacy protections, digital marketing safeguards that cover politics, health and children, and regulation of anti-competitive and monopolistic behaviors.
The CDD added that it has written to the FTC, the Federal Communications Commission, the California attorney general and the California Privacy Protection Agency, calling for them to thoroughly investigate the U.S. connected TV industry.
It’s worth noting that consumers have few options to avoid become victims of the TV industry’s surveillance operations. In the report, Roku was mentioned no less than 178 times, while Google and YouTube were mentioned 120 times. Disney’s name cropped up 117 times, while Amazon’s appeared 104 times, LG 81 times and Samsung 77 times.
Basically every TV company worth its salt was mentioned in the report, with the single exception of Apple, whose name never cropped up at all.
The reason for that is that Apple uses an entirely different business model that sees it generate revenue from hardware sales and also from app store purchases, such as when Apple TV users pay for a subscription to Netflix or download a paid app. It also has its own streaming service.
The omission of Apple suggests that it may be a better option for the privacy-conscious consumers. But even if you do use Apple, you’ll need to steer clear of any streaming services to avoid being tracked. It should also be noted that Blu-ray disc players don’t track users either.
