Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced on Monday that he has filed lawsuits against five major television companies, including some “those associated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP),” accusing them of monitoring Texas residents.
The companies being sued are Sony, Samsung, LG, and Chinese companies Hisense and TCL Technology. According to Paxton, these companies have been illegally collecting personal data using Automatic Content Recognition (ACR) technology, which captures screenshots of users’ TV screens every 500 milliseconds, monitors their viewing activities in real-time, and transmits this information back to the companies without users’ knowledge or consent.
Paxton emphasized that companies, especially those associated with the CCP, have no authority to illegally record devices in American homes. He stated, “Having a television does not mean handing over your personal information to large tech companies or foreign hostile forces.”
In the lawsuits against Hisense and TCL Technology, Paxton highlighted the CCP backgrounds of these two companies. Concerns have been raised about consumer data collection due to their association with the CCP, especially with China’s National Security Law that grants the CCP government the ability to access American consumer data.
The lawsuit against Hisense mentioned that the company is controlled by the Qingdao municipal government and has received billions of dollars in subsidies from the CCP. The complaint stated that Hisense has insecure data records, and its association with the CCP government exacerbates the risk of users facing network intrusions and data breaches.
As for TCL Technology, the lawsuit mentioned that it is a government-owned enterprise controlled by the CCP and has received billions of dollars in subsidies from the CCP. The complaint stated that TCL intentionally implanted “backdoors” in all its televisions, exposing users to risks of network attacks and data theft by the CCP and other malicious actors.
Paxton warned that the CCP could potentially use the ACR data collected from smart TVs to influence or harm public figures in Texas, including judges, elected officials, and law enforcement personnel, as part of the CCP’s long-term plan to disrupt and weaken American democracy.
Paxton pledged to hold companies accountable for deception, abuse, or exploitation, and vowed to continue actively investigating and stopping any companies putting consumers at risk. The Attorney General’s office recognizes the ongoing threat that the CCP poses to the safety, data security, and personal privacy of Texas residents.