In a new development to the issue of eavesdropping currently plaguing Samsung Smart TVs, the firm has dragged fellow Korean company LG into the mess. United States Senator Al Franken, who is a ranking member of the Senate subcommittee on privacy, technology and law, is now questioning the two companies regarding the privacy policies covering their respective Smart TV voice recognition technologies.
On Feb. 11, Wednesday, the Democrat from Minnesota sent letters to the heads of Samsung North America Gregory Lee and LG USA William Cho, according to PC World. In the letter, Sen. Franken asked if it was necessary for the two companies to collect personal communications from users in order for the voice recognition in their Smart TVs to function.
If collecting such information is required, the senator further asked Samsung and LG in the letter if the voice data is shared with any other third-party providers for any other purpose. If not, Sen. Franken further asked if it was possible to extract such personal data before they are transmitted to a third party.
In addition, Sen. Franken wants to know if the two Asian companies have placed any restriction or exercised any control over how third parties use, sell, share, retain or protect sensitive information from its users.
Further, the politician queried if Samsung and LG share or sell to third parties data they collected about users' TV viewing habits. He also asked if users can opt out from having their behavior monitored.
Samsung has responded via an email to Sen. Franken's letter. The company said it "supports Senator Franken's commitment to consumer privacy and appreciates the opportunity to respond to his inquiries regarding the voice recognition feature on its Smart TVs." On the other hand, LG has not immediately commented on the letter.
The Daily Beast was the first to report on Samsung Smart TV's privacy policy, which originally warned users that personal or other sensitive information spoken within hearing range of the device may be collected and shared to a third party. The privacy policy, however, has since been revised and Samsung has denied the spying allegations.