Campaigns Can Now See What You Watch on TV. It’s Changing Everything.
www.notus.org
Smart TVs that track what people watch and how they watch it give political campaigns a new trove of data to exploit, with little transparency on how it’s happening.

Televisions that can stream platforms like Hulu or Max usually come loaded with technology that collects information on what viewers are watching, and buyers consent to have their viewing tracked when they open their new TV and click through terms of service agreements. Sometimes, data firms can connect those viewing habits to a voter’s phone or laptop via their IP address, promising a trove of information about an individual and the ability to track them across screens.

Other times, firms focus on dividing households into groups based on what they’re watching, how they use their TVs and how many campaign ads they’re seeing, which is a boon to political campaigns eager to target specific groups of voters. Connecting this data to voter files is increasingly a focus — a move that adds individual voting habits into the mix.

  • sunzu@kbin.run
    374·
    6 months ago

    Just don’t let it connect to internet.

    There are no good dumb teevees for home use

    • yeehaw
      161·
      6 months ago

      It will work at a premium cost, and only until they start selling them with LTE chips buried away in the motherboard.

      • LordCrom@lemmy.world
        62·
        6 months ago

        So many devices come with those now… I open up my products and remove the card, the antenna, or the whole board if possible.

          • LordCrom@lemmy.world
            13·
            6 months ago

            For example, my sleep apnea machine had a wifi for home and a LTE modem. Data gathered by the machine was sent off-site…no reports available on the host. Privacy policy read it would gather info, run diagnostics on itself and the local network without explanation of what it was doing.

            My sleep data could not be viewed by me, only through the 3rd party, so I ripped out the wifi board and LTE chip. I haul the machine into my doctor office so he can cycle through data on the tiny display.

            He hates it, but I remind him he picked the machine without asking me if I agreed to to the data collection.

            • KnightontheSun@lemmy.world
              3·
              6 months ago

              For insurance to cover it the data tells them whether you are using it or not. If you don’t meet the minimum usage they won’t pay for the machine. Buying it yourself negates that, but they can get spendy.

              Do not buy Philips.

              • LordCrom@lemmy.world
                2·
                6 months ago

                They make you buy the machine… The data is collected for doctor review, but instead of letting me use the open FOSS reporting, it’s encrypted so that I can’t see my own data.

                After that experience I’m certain sleep apnea machines are a huge insurance racket. 45 dollars for a replacement plastic tube…lol

            • yeehaw
              3·
              6 months ago

              Ya fuck that. That’s why I have an IOT vlan, though even that has its caveats. Nest speakers with microphones and your sleep apnea machine have some good personal data gathering capabilities despite it.

    • bobs_monkey@lemm.ee
      71·
      6 months ago

      It’s becoming harder to find TVs that will operate without a network connection

        • bobs_monkey@lemm.ee
          9·
          6 months ago

          Yeah, I’ve seen it on some Samsungs and LGs that get real pissy when the TV itself isn’t online. I’ve also heard of some brands (that I don’t remember atm) that won’t even let you go through the initial setup without a connection.

          • pdxfed@lemmy.world
            4·
            6 months ago

            … I’ve also heard of some brands (that I don’t remember atm) that won’t even let you go through the initial setup without a connection.

            /Microsoft announced new foray into TVs…