LG Looking into Claim Smart TVs Grab User Data

LG Electronics Inc. said it is investigating a claim that some of its smart TVs send information on home viewing habits back to the company without consent.

The investigation comes after a British blogger, using network traffic analysis software, detailed how his LG smart TV logged the channels he was watching even after an information collection feature was disabled.

The blog said the TV also collected the names of files saved in an external USB hard drive plugged into the TV as well as the TV's unique identification information.

The information also appeared to be sent to LG unencrypted.

The world's second-largest TV maker said Thursday that customer privacy is its top priority and takes the issue very seriously.

An ad platform in LG smart TVs called LG Smart AD lets advertisers reach target audiences by utilizing device information, regional information and demographic details such as age and gender, LG says on its website.

However it was not immediately clear which features in LG's smart TVs were triggering the data monitoring.