{
  "id": 6417377,
  "title": "LG strongly denies TV security claims, says tracking and snooping concerns 'not true' — online investigation claims 216,000,000 TVs spy and record audio",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/09/lg-strongly-denies-tv-security-claims-says-tracking-and-snooping",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-09-09T11:50:18.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Tom's Hardware",
    "slug": "tom-s-hardware",
    "url": "https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/big-tech/lg-strongly-denies-tv-security-claims-says-tracking-and-snooping-concerns-not-true-online-investigation-claims-216-000-000-spy-tvs-record-audio"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "LG, the TV manufacturer, has categorically denied recent online claims that its smart TVs are constantly logging and uploading data, recording audio in standby mode, and spying on users. The Gamers Nexus investigation, published on YouTube, alleges that LG has sold 216 million \"spy TVs\". However, LG maintains that these claims are false.\n\nAccording to LG, the company's smart TVs only process voice data when the user presses the voice button on the remote control or activates the \"Hi LG\" wake word through far-field voice recognition. The company asserts that no ambient conversations are recorded or transmitted unless the user activates the voice functionality. When the TV is in standby mode, it only listens for the wake word if it has been previously activated by the user. If the wake word is not detected, the audio is processed locally and then deleted immediately.\n\nLG also confirms that its TVs can scan for other devices on the same network, a standard feature in smart TVs and other smart home devices. The company uses this functionality for automatic content recognition (ACR), which is an opt-in feature for delivering personalized content recommendations, services, and advertisements. The data collected through ACR is not used for advertising without the user's consent.\n\nDespite the detailed explanation, Tom's Hardware cannot independently verify the claims made by Gamers Nexus or LG's counterclaims.",
  "summary": "LG has strongly denied recent security and privacy concerns raised regarding its smart TVs.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}