<
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/10/streaming-industry-has-unprecedented-surveillance-manipulation-capabilities/>
'The companies behind the streaming industry, including smart TV and streaming
stick manufacturers and streaming service providers, have developed a
"surveillance system" that has "long undermined privacy and consumer
protection," according to a report from the Center for Digital Democracy (CDD)
published today and sent to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Unprecedented
tracking techniques aimed at pleasing advertisers have resulted in connected
TVs (CTVs) being a "privacy nightmare," according to Jeffrey Chester, report
co-author and CDD executive director, resulting in calls for stronger
regulation.
The 48-page report,
How TV Watches Us: Commercial Surveillance in the
Streaming Era, cites
Ars Technica, other news publications, trade
publications, blog posts, and statements from big players in streaming—from
Amazon to NBCUniversal and Tubi, to LG, Samsung, and Vizio. It provides a
detailed overview of the various ways that streaming services and streaming
hardware target viewers in newfound ways that the CDD argues pose severe
privacy risks. The nonprofit composed the report as part of efforts to
encourage regulation. Today, the CDD sent letters to the FTC, Federal
Communications Commission (FCC), California attorney general, and California
Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA), regarding its concerns.
"Not only does CTV operate in ways that are unfair to consumers, it is also
putting them and their families at risk as it gathers and uses sensitive data
about health, children, race, and political interests,” Chester said in a
statement.
Beyond rising streaming subscription fees and the increasing presence of ads in
streaming services, the growth of streaming has a "steep price," the report
says:
The widespread technological and business developments that have taken place
during the last five years have created a connected television media and
marketing system with unprecedented capabilities for surveillance and
manipulation.
The report notes "misleading" privacy policies that have minimal information on
data collection and tracking methods and the use of marketing tactics like
cookie-less IDs and identity graphs that make promises of not collecting or
sharing personal information "meaningless."
"As a consequence, buying a smart TV set in today’s connected television
marketplace is akin to bringing a digital Trojan Horse into one’s home," it
says.'
Via Violet Blue’s
Cybersecurity Roundup: October 8, 2024
https://www.patreon.com/posts/cybersecurity-8-113584140
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
