Your
smart
TV
is
a
“privacy
nightmare”,
a
new
report
claims,
suggesting
that
the
streaming
industry
has
created
a
sinister
surveillance
system
that’s
undermining
our
privacy
and
our
consumer
protection
too.
That’s
according
to
a
damning
48-page
report
by
the
Center
For
Digital
Democracy
(CDD),
which
has
been
passed
to
the
Federal
Trade
Commission
(FTC).
According
to
the
report,
the
price
of
streaming
isn’t
just
in
its
ever-increasing
subscription
fees.
It’s
in
its
“connected
television
media
and
marketing
system
with
unprecendented
capabilities
for
surveillance
and
manipulation.”
And
thanks
to
AI,
it’s
about
to
get
even
worse.
What’s
so
sinister
about
streaming?
You
can
read
the
full
PDF
report
here,
but
here
are
some
of
the
key
points.
What
the
report
calls
“connected
TV”
is
now
the
dominant
way
for
US
consumers
to
watch
TV,
and
it
says
that
the
manufacturers
and
streamers
have
collectively
turned
connected
TVs
into
“a
sophisticated
monitoring,
tracking
and
targeting
device.”
In
the
report’s
introduction
it
uses
Tubi
as
an
example.
“Tubi’s
fundamental
business
model
is
based
on
harvesting
rich
and
detailed
information
from
its
viewers”
using
advertising
tech,
and
that
tech
can
then
be
used
to
change
what
content
is
recommended
to
you
and
even
what
products
are
featured
in
your
shows.
And
Tubi
is
far
from
alone
in
this:
the
report
goes
into
a
lot
of
detail
about
technologies
it
says
are
used
by
Disney+,
Amazon,
Netflix
and
many
more
of
the
best
streaming
services.
The
CDD
report
says
that
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…
millions
of
Americans
are
being
forced
to
accept
unfair
terms
in
order
to
access
video
programming,
which
threatens
their
privacy
and
may
also
narrow
what
information
they
access
–
including
the
quality
of
the
content
itself.”
The
report
paints
a
bleak
picture,
and
the
CDD
wants
the
US
Government
to
take
action.
In
particular
it
wants:
Robust
privacy
protection
Digital
marketing
safeguards
covering
politics,
health
and
children
Regulation
of
anti-competitive
and
monopolistic
behaviors
The
CDD
has
written
to
the
FTC,
FCC,
the
California
attorney
general,
and
the
CPPA
demanding
an
investigation
into
the
US
connected
TV
industry.
If
you’re
feeling
cynical,
the
size
of
the
companies
involved
and
the
size
of
their
political
donations
may
make
such
an
investigation
unlikely
–
and
the
result
of
the
Presidential
election
may
make
the
likelihood
of
an
investigation
is
even
slimmer.
However,
it’s
clear
that
to
have
such
a
massive
and
influential
industry
effectively
self-regulating
may
not
be
the
best
way
to
protect
our
privacy
or
save
us
from
corporate
misbehavior.
You
need
only
look
at
the
many
lawsuits
facing
the
likes
of
Google
to
see
that.
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and
more.
Should
this
put
you
off
buying
the
best
TVs
today,
which
are
all
smart
and
connected?
Well,
you
don’t
have
a
ton
of
options
–
unless
you
want
to
use
a
basic
PC
monitor
to
watch
TV,
everything
is
setup
for
the
new
world
of
data
collection.
You
could
switch
to
one
of
the
best
projectors
and
best
4K
Blu-ray
players
to
keep
things
more
offline,
though
they
won’t
be
for
everyone
due
to
their
size
–
and
you
can’t
get
them
for
the
same
cheap
price
as
today’s
TVs.
As
is
often
the
case,
we
don’t
have
quite
the
range
of
choice
in
the
market
that
you
might
think,
considering
just
how
many
TVs
are
available.
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