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LG
From Consumer Action Taskforce
LG Smart Home Privacy Violations
Background
The LG cooperation makes it profits by selling appliances, in many cases smart appliances. These include anything from a smart microwave to smart OLED TV.[1] LG is currently worth over 9.9 Billion USD[2] in market cap and must be held to the standards of a company of such prestige.
Implementation
The implementation of "smart" LG devices come with the following features:[3]
- A terms of service with the only option being to "accept".
- A single terms of service that dictates how a multitude of unrelated LG devices can use your personal data. Agreeing on one device means agreement on all.
- There is only an easily accessible "accept all" button when the service prompts the user with the TOS.
- Information gained by smart appliances are used to create a "profile" on the consumer. This profile is used to give scarily accurate targeted advertisements.
- Products such as the lines of LG smart vacuum cleaners collect information such as images, floor maps, cleaning history, cleaning diary list, and video feed. This data is then sent to LG servers.
- Products such as LG smart TVs have the "Do not sell my personal data" setting off by default. This is a clear example of not obtaining proper consent.
- Products such as LG smart TV's collecting information on the use of themselves such as what content you watch and when you watch it. This information then contributes to the profile.
Broader Implications
This incident represents broader implications:
- A lack of control over ones own data.
- A lack of consent before using the customers data to make a profit.
- Services being "opt-out" that should be "opt-in"
- A lack of privacy in ones own home, due to their electronics siphoning data to LG, even after the transfer of ownership has been made.
