LG is facing renewed scrutiny over the privacy and security practices of its smart televisions after technology channel Gamers Nexus challenged the company's response to a lengthy investigation into data collection, advertising technology and potential security vulnerabilities.
The dispute centres on what information LG televisions collect, how that information is processed and whether users have sufficient control over the data generated by their devices.
Gamers Nexus, working with Level1Techs and independent security researchers, published an extensive investigation examining LG smart TVs and their network activity. The investigation used traffic analysis, software examination and security testing to study what the televisions were doing both online and offline.
LG rejects allegations
LG has strongly rejected the central allegations.
In a statement provided to several technology publications, the company said its televisions do not collect or record ambient conversations unless voice functionality has been deliberately activated. LG said voice data is processed when a user holds the voice button on the remote or when an activated "Hi LG" wake word is recognised.
The company also said that when a wake word is not recognised, the audio used for detection is processed locally and deleted rather than transmitted to LG's servers.
LG also acknowledged that its televisions can scan for compatible devices on the same local network. The company described this as a standard smart-TV function used for features such as device connectivity, content sharing and smart-home integration.
LG further maintains that its Automatic Content Recognition, or ACR, system is an optional feature and that ACR data is not used for advertising when the applicable consent has not been provided.
What Gamers Nexus says it found
Gamers Nexus disputes LG's characterization of the technology.
The investigation reported that LG televisions tested by the team were capable of identifying devices connected to the same home network, including devices that were not directly connected to the television. Researchers said the televisions could identify information such as internal IP addresses and nearby Wi-Fi networks.
The researchers also examined LG's Automatic Content Recognition technology. According to the investigation, the system can identify content displayed through multiple sources, including HDMI-connected devices. This raises broader privacy questions because a television can potentially gather information about what is being viewed even when the content originates from an external device.
Gamers Nexus also linked the findings to LG Ad Solutions, LG's advertising business, arguing that information generated by connected televisions forms part of a broader commercial ecosystem designed to understand households and their connected devices. LG Ad Solutions has publicly promoted its ability to reach television households and associated devices.
The audio and security dispute
One of the most serious allegations concerns audio captured by LG televisions.
Gamers Nexus says its security testing demonstrated circumstances in which audio could be captured while the television was offline and that information could be stored locally before potentially being transmitted once connectivity was restored. The investigation also reported finding plaintext transcripts associated with captured audio.
These claims are particularly significant because they concern the distinction between what a television is designed to do and what an attacker might be able to make it do by exploiting a security vulnerability.
Al Jazeera, which reviewed the dispute, reported that researchers were able to demonstrate audio capture while a television was in a hibernation state. Security researchers cited by the outlet stressed that prompt security updates are important because smart TVs can remain in homes for years, sometimes beyond their supported update periods.
However, an important distinction remains: evidence that a device can be exploited to capture or retain audio does not by itself establish that LG routinely uses the vulnerability to secretly listen to customers or sends those recordings to its advertising operation.
One researcher quoted by Al Jazeera specifically said there was no concrete evidence that ambient audio or transcripts were being fed into LG's advertising or profiling systems.
Questions surrounding LG Ad Solutions
The investigation also highlighted the history of LG's advertising business and its connection to Alphonso, a data and television advertising company acquired by LG.
The corporate history has attracted additional scrutiny because Serge Matta, who had previously served as chief executive of Comscore, became involved with Alphonso's leadership. A Delaware court record concerning a dispute involving Alphonso states that Matta had previously settled accounting and disclosure fraud charges with the US Securities and Exchange Commission while at Comscore.
The SEC's own 2019 enforcement announcement confirms that Comscore and Matta settled charges involving an alleged scheme to overstate revenue and make false or misleading disclosures. Comscore agreed to pay a $5 million penalty, while Matta agreed to pay $700,000, reimburse Comscore $2.1 million and accept a 10-year bar on serving as an officer or director of a public company. The parties settled without admitting or denying the SEC's findings.
That history is relevant to the wider discussion surrounding LG's advertising business, but it does not establish that LG's current privacy practices are fraudulent or that current LG executives have engaged in similar conduct.
What remains unproven
The controversy currently involves several different issues that should not be treated as a single allegation.
There is evidence that LG televisions have network-discovery capabilities, including the ability to identify devices on a local network. LG acknowledges this functionality but says it is used for legitimate smart-TV features.
There is also a documented dispute over ACR and the extent of viewing information collected by LG televisions. LG says the feature is optional and subject to user consent, while Gamers Nexus argues that the system's capabilities and data flows raise broader privacy concerns.
The most contentious claims concern ambient audio, locally stored transcripts and exploitable vulnerabilities. Gamers Nexus says its testing demonstrates serious weaknesses, while LG says its televisions do not record ambient conversations outside explicitly activated voice functions. Independent reporting has not established that LG routinely uses these vulnerabilities to secretly collect customers' conversations for advertising.
A wider privacy question for smart TVs
The dispute highlights a broader issue facing the smart-TV industry: modern televisions are increasingly functioning as connected computers rather than simple displays.
Features such as content recognition, voice assistants, advertising systems, device discovery and network connectivity can provide useful functionality while also generating substantial amounts of information about a household.
For consumers, the controversy underscores the importance of understanding privacy settings, software updates and the permissions associated with connected television features.
For LG, the immediate challenge is demonstrating clearly how its televisions process potentially sensitive information and addressing security vulnerabilities that could undermine the privacy protections the company says are already in place.
The disagreement between LG and Gamers Nexus remains unresolved. LG continues to deny that its televisions secretly record ambient conversations, while Gamers Nexus stands by the results of its investigation and argues that the company's public response does not adequately address the security vulnerabilities and data-collection mechanisms identified during testing.
Further independent technical verification and disclosures from LG will likely determine how much of the investigation's most serious claims can ultimately be substantiated.
