Samsung’s “Orwellian” Privacy Policy Invites Allegations of "Smart TV" Spying

Samsung faced an FTC complaint as well as a congressional inquiry after reports questioned whether its voice-activated Smart TVs might be eavesdropping on users. Users and the press were outraged after noticing that Samsung’s “Orwellian” privacy policy suggested that its Smart TVs were recording conversations and transmitting that data unencrypted to third parties. In response to the uproar, which included days of negative press coverage and triggered a U.S. senator’s inquiry, Samsung updated its privacy policy, but many found the vague modifications insufficient to assuage fears and rebuild consumer trust.