Campaigns Can Now See What You Watch on TV. It’s Changing Everything.
www.notus.org
Smart TVs that track what people watch and how they watch it give political campaigns a new trove of data to exploit, with little transparency on how it’s happening.

Televisions that can stream platforms like Hulu or Max usually come loaded with technology that collects information on what viewers are watching, and buyers consent to have their viewing tracked when they open their new TV and click through terms of service agreements. Sometimes, data firms can connect those viewing habits to a voter’s phone or laptop via their IP address, promising a trove of information about an individual and the ability to track them across screens.

Other times, firms focus on dividing households into groups based on what they’re watching, how they use their TVs and how many campaign ads they’re seeing, which is a boon to political campaigns eager to target specific groups of voters. Connecting this data to voter files is increasingly a focus — a move that adds individual voting habits into the mix.

  • Nate Cox@programming.devEnglish
    37·
    5 months ago

    I wish there were more high quality dumb TVs. Most of the dumb TVs I can find today are both very expensive and lack the features I’m looking for like HDR and 120hz+ frame rates.

    I know the argument is that the privacy invasions are subsidizing the cost of the TV but I have yet to see non-anecdotal evidence of that and suspect that the price of the TV would be the same either way because the market will only support so much expense.

    • sunzu@kbin.run
      37·
      5 months ago

      Just don’t let it connect to internet.

      There are no good dumb teevees for home use

      • yeehaw@lemmy.ca
        16·
        5 months ago

        It will work at a premium cost, and only until they start selling them with LTE chips buried away in the motherboard.

        • LordCrom@lemmy.world
          6·
          5 months ago

          So many devices come with those now… I open up my products and remove the card, the antenna, or the whole board if possible.

            • LordCrom@lemmy.world
              13·
              5 months ago

              For example, my sleep apnea machine had a wifi for home and a LTE modem. Data gathered by the machine was sent off-site…no reports available on the host. Privacy policy read it would gather info, run diagnostics on itself and the local network without explanation of what it was doing.

              My sleep data could not be viewed by me, only through the 3rd party, so I ripped out the wifi board and LTE chip. I haul the machine into my doctor office so he can cycle through data on the tiny display.

              He hates it, but I remind him he picked the machine without asking me if I agreed to to the data collection.

              • KnightontheSun@lemmy.world
                3·
                5 months ago

                For insurance to cover it the data tells them whether you are using it or not. If you don’t meet the minimum usage they won’t pay for the machine. Buying it yourself negates that, but they can get spendy.

                Do not buy Philips.

                • LordCrom@lemmy.world
                  2·
                  5 months ago

                  They make you buy the machine… The data is collected for doctor review, but instead of letting me use the open FOSS reporting, it’s encrypted so that I can’t see my own data.

                  After that experience I’m certain sleep apnea machines are a huge insurance racket. 45 dollars for a replacement plastic tube…lol

              • yeehaw@lemmy.ca
                3·
                5 months ago

                Ya fuck that. That’s why I have an IOT vlan, though even that has its caveats. Nest speakers with microphones and your sleep apnea machine have some good personal data gathering capabilities despite it.

          • bobs_monkey@lemm.ee
            9·
            5 months ago

            Yeah, I’ve seen it on some Samsungs and LGs that get real pissy when the TV itself isn’t online. I’ve also heard of some brands (that I don’t remember atm) that won’t even let you go through the initial setup without a connection.

            • pdxfed@lemmy.world
              4·
              5 months ago

              … I’ve also heard of some brands (that I don’t remember atm) that won’t even let you go through the initial setup without a connection.

              /Microsoft announced new foray into TVs…

    • Echo5@lemmy.world
      2·
      5 months ago

      I grabbed a display TV and haven’t hooked it up to the internet, so far so good. Could look into that.

    • InputZero@lemmy.ml
      1·
      5 months ago

      I use computer monitors for TVs. Mostly because they’re smaller and I don’t have that much space for stuff. Most have all those features but don’t have a smart interface. I plug them in over HDMI and make sure CEC is enabled so I can turn it on and off with a dumb remote the RasPi. Works pretty well actually.