"When families buy a television, they don't expect it to spy on them. They don't expect their viewing habits packaged and auctioned to advertisers."
That allegation, taken directly from Texas' lawsuit against Hisense, sits at the center of Attorney General Ken Paxton's legal action against five major television manufacturers accused of secretly monitoring consumers inside their homes.
Paxton has sued Sony, Samsung, LG, Hisense, and TCL Technology Group Corporation, alleging the companies unlawfully collected and sold consumer viewing data from Texans through Automated Content Recognition technology, known as ACR.
According to the lawsuits, ACR software can capture images and audio from a television screen every fraction of a second, identify what content is being watched across streaming services, cable, and connected devices, and transmit that information back to the manufacturer.
State attorneys allege the data is then used to build detailed consumer profiles prior to being sold for targeted advertising and related commercial purposes.
The Hisense lawsuit, filed in Comal County, Texas, is presented as a detailed example of the conduct Paxton's office says is occurring across the smart television industry.
In the petition, Texas alleges consumers never agreed to what it calls "Hisense Watchware," arguing that ACR tracking was enabled by default and disclosed only through dense legal language that few consumers would read or understand.
The filing states that Hisense's claimed consent was "meaningless," describing disclosures as hidden, vague, and misleading.
According to the lawsuit, Hisense collected far more data than necessary to make the television function, stripping consumers of real choice and keeping them unaware of what was happening inside their own homes.
The state argues those practices violate the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, which is intended to prevent deceptive and unfair business conduct.
"Hisense chose data extraction and advertising dollars over honesty and respect for consumer privacy," the petition stated, calling the conduct illegal.
The lawsuit also warned that tens of thousands of Texans could activate new Hisense televisions over the Christmas holiday season that immediately begin ACR monitoring without their knowledge or consent.
In announcing the lawsuits, Paxton said companies have no right to secretly record activity inside consumers' homes and that Texas will enforce privacy protections for its residents.
The attorney general's office also cited concerns about Chinese national security laws that require companies based in China to provide data to the government upon request, increasing the risk when U.S. consumer data is collected by firms with Chinese ties.
The lawsuits seek civil penalties, injunctive relief, and court orders requiring companies to stop the alleged practices and clearly disclose their data collection methods.
Jim Mishler ✉
Jim Mishler, a seasoned reporter, anchor and news director, has decades of experience covering crime, politics and environmental issues.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.