Overview
- Texas filed separate lawsuits in state courts alleging the TV makers use Automated Content Recognition to capture on-screen images about twice per second, monitor viewing across apps and inputs, and transmit data for ad targeting without consent.
- The state seeks civil penalties under the Deceptive Trade Practices Act—up to $10,000 per violation and up to $250,000 for violations affecting people 65 or older—plus temporary orders blocking collection, sharing, and selling of ACR data.
- Complaints describe deceptive consent flows that promote activation during setup while burying disclosures and scattering opt-out controls across multiple menus that may require 15 or more clicks.
- Paxton’s filings flag Hisense and TCL’s China ties and cite China’s National Security Law as a risk that could give foreign authorities access to U.S. consumer data.
- Manufacturers largely declined to comment as the litigation begins; prior scrutiny of TV data practices includes Vizio’s 2017 $2.2 million settlement with the FTC and New Jersey.