Texas Secures LG Smart TV Privacy Settlement Over User Data Collection
LG has settled with Texas over allegations its smart TVs collected user data without proper consent.
Why it matters: Enforcement actions like this signal heightened scrutiny of IoT device privacy practices. Legal and compliance teams must remain vigilant as regulators intensify oversight of data collection and consent requirements.
- Texas sued five TV makers, including LG, for recording users’ viewing habits without consent.
- LG’s settlement addresses transparency and informed consent for data collection via smart TVs.
- Other lawsuits in the sweep named Sony, Samsung, Hisense, and TCL as defendants.
- Prior privacy settlements in Texas have reached as high as $1.4 billion.
On May 11, 2026, LG settled with the State of Texas over allegations that its smart TVs collected consumer data without sufficiently clear consent or transparency about these practices. This settlement marks the latest in a series of state actions targeting the privacy practices of smart device manufacturers.
- The lawsuits, initially announced by Attorney General Ken Paxton in December 2025, accused LG and other TV makers—Sony, Samsung, Hisense, and TCL—of using Automated Content Recognition (ACR) to monitor users’ televisions. ACR technology was said to capture screenshots of users’ screens every 500 milliseconds and transmit the data back to the companies without user consent.
- The agreement with LG comes soon after fellow defendant Samsung’s March 2026 settlement, which required Samsung to stop collecting ACR data from Texans without explicit, informed consent and to revise its privacy prompts.
- Attorney General Paxton’s office has taken an aggressive stance on consumer privacy, previously extracting $1.375 billion from Google and $1.4 billion from Meta over data privacy violations.
- Specific terms of the LG settlement have not been disclosed, but Texas is continuing litigation against other manufacturers.
As privacy scrutiny mounts for makers of connected devices, legal and compliance teams should review their organizations' privacy disclosures and consent mechanisms, especially with respect to real-time data capture and IoT technologies.
By the numbers:
- 500 milliseconds — Frequency at which ACR technology captured TV screenshots
- $1.4 billion — Amount Texas secured from Meta in a prior privacy settlement
- $1.375 billion — Settlement between Texas and Google over privacy violations
Yes, but: Specific terms and any financial details of LG's settlement have not been disclosed.
What's next: Ongoing litigation against Sony, Hisense, and TCL could yield further settlements or court decisions.