{"id":29426,"date":"2017-02-07T09:01:16","date_gmt":"2017-02-07T17:01:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.clairewolfe.com\/blog\/?p=29426"},"modified":"2017-02-07T09:07:29","modified_gmt":"2017-02-07T17:07:29","slug":"vizio-the-spy-behind-your-screen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.clairewolfe.com\/blog\/2017\/02\/07\/vizio-the-spy-behind-your-screen\/","title":{"rendered":"Vizio: the spy behind your screen"},"content":{"rendered":"

Got an Internet-connected Vizio TV? <\/p>\n

Smile, you’re on Candid Camera. And in marketing databases everywhere.<\/p>\n

The FTC says<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Consumers have bought more than 11 million internet-connected Vizio televisions since 2010. But according to a complaint filed by the FTC and the New Jersey Attorney General, consumers didn\u2019t know that while they were watching their TVs, Vizio was watching them. The lawsuit challenges the company\u2019s tracking practices and offers insights into how established consumer protection principles apply to smart technology.<\/p>\n

Starting in 2014, Vizio made TVs that automatically tracked what consumers were watching and transmitted that data back to its servers. Vizio even retrofitted older models by installing its tracking software remotely. All of this, the FTC and AG allege, was done without clearly telling consumers or getting their consent.<\/p>\n

What did Vizio know about what was going on in the privacy of consumers\u2019 homes? On a second-by-second basis, Vizio collected a selection of pixels on the screen that it matched to a database of TV, movie, and commercial content. What\u2019s more, Vizio identified viewing data from cable or broadband service providers, set-top boxes, streaming devices, DVD players, and over-the-air broadcasts. Add it all up and Vizio captured as many as 100 billion data points each day from millions of TVs.<\/p>\n

Vizio then turned that mountain of data into cash by selling consumers\u2019 viewing histories to advertisers and others. And let\u2019s be clear: We\u2019re not talking about summary information about national viewing trends. According to the complaint, Vizio got personal. The company provided consumers\u2019 IP addresses to data aggregators, who then matched the address with an individual consumer or household. Vizio\u2019s contracts with third parties prohibited the re-identification of consumers and households by name, but allowed a host of other personal details \u2013 for example, sex, age, income, marital status, household size, education, and home ownership. And Vizio permitted these companies to track and target its consumers across devices.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s what Vizio was up to behind the screen, but what was the company telling consumers? Not much, according to the complaint.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And while all this is expressed as a “complaint,” and therefore unsubstantiated, Vizio has agreed to pay some big bux<\/a> to the State of New Jersey (and can other states be far behind?).<\/p>\n

Now, a number of thoughts occurred to me as I read the FTC article.<\/p>\n