Samsung promises to not take screenshots of Texans' TV screens without permission

Samsung and other TV manufacturers were sued by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton based on allegations that these manufacturers were “spying” on Texas residents through their smart TVs.

The conflict was over the Automated Content Recognition (ACR) technology that screenshots whatever's on the screen to serve better ads. Samsung had this feature enabled by default previously but it has now agreed to not use ACR unless users consent.

ACR captures screenshots when the TV is on about every 500 milliseconds. That information is then sent to the manufacturer's servers and those of its partners, even without the user's permission. A court in Texas had ordered Samsung to stop this temporarily while the case was underway.

The state's attorney general has now announced that it has signed an agreement with Samsung Electronics. It will ensure that no ACR data is collected without users being fully informed and consenting to it.

This agreement also requires Samsung to immediately stop any collection or processing of ACR data without first obtaining explicit consent from users in Texas.

Samsung is required to update its smart TVs to show disclosures and consent screens that clearly educate users about ACR so that they can make an informed decision about consenting to its use.

Samsung is one of the first major TV manufacturers to ink this agreement, which has won it praise from the attorney general. Paxton also sued Sony, TCL, and LG, but they have yet to come to a similar agreement.