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New Samsung TV Watches You Watching It
CanHasDIY writes "Straight out of 1984, Samsung has unveiled a new series of televisions with integrated cameras and microphones, complete with facial and voice recognition software. Best of all, there appears to be no physical indication of the mic and camera's status, so consumers have no way of knowing when they're being monitored, or by whom... and if you don't find the idea of a TV that watches you creepy enough, apparently Samsung's Terms of Service include a clause allowing third-party apps to make use of the monitoring system, and use the data gathered for their own purposes. Nothing Orwellian about that..."
Look guys, it's just too easy.
"The agriculture ministry is not in charge of Gundam" - Japanese ministry official.
Can't be. I don't recall reading about Apple releasing a television set that watches you while you watch it.
Omnipresent surveillance is inevitable, and will change society dramatically. The question what we choose to do with it.
There is NO TV!
This sig is not paradoxical or ironic.
Give me a moment. I am frightened into incoherence.
AaaaaaaaaaaaRGH
AAAAAAAAAAAARGH
Its too HARD!
This sig is not paradoxical or ironic.
Try not to show fear while watching... That is dangerous. "Your worst enemy, he reflected, was your nervous system. At any moment the tension inside you was liable to translate itself into some visible symptom."
.. the wrong way round! And possibly even more boring.
In what way is this different from your typical smartphone, tablet, most laptops, and soon I imagine, a Samsung fridge?
This is
Dennis Onstenk
I'd just put duct tape over the lens, or better yet, open the thing up and snip the wires going to the mic and camera(s)
The warranty would go bye-bye but my privacy doesn't.
Sounds the same as having a web cam or an xbox. They both have cameras that can broadcast images.
Nothing to see here...
"Maybe this world is another planet's hell"
Aldous Huxley
What about Max Headroom?
More and more personal and household devices are connecting to the internet, from your television to your car navigation systems to your light switches. CIA Director David Petraeus cannot wait to spy on you through them.
http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2012/03/petraeus-tv-remote/
.....which were provided to Pennsylvanian teens, and had integrated cameras, but there was no indication to the users that they were being recorded in their bedrooms (by the government).
My AC stalker: " I personally agree with your posts most of the time, but that won't keep me from modding you troll"
So many questions, but the first of them all is "why would I now buy a Samsung TV"? I mean, I think they make a pretty decent TV, but they're not good enough to invite all of Samsung and its affiliates into my living room. What am I getting out the exchange here?
Who watches the watcher watchers?
crazy dynamite monkey
I get how everybody goes crazy whenever anything has the potential to spy on you, but relax. It's nothing that hasn't been done before. If you're so afraid about TVs becoming more advanced, then why not be so scared about cell phones, game consoles, iPods and the like? They all have cameras, microphones, and internet connectivity, but they're used for entertainment and functionality, not for spying. Sure, these things can have a government-mandated backdoor of sorts, but worrying about every piece of advanced technology will get us nowhere.
Besides it's not like these companies have all of the staff and resources necessary to watch and monitor the thousands to millions of TV users all at once. This is mostly meant for facial recognition technology, Skype, and the like. Chill, people.
"Our country is not nearly so overrun with the bigoted as it is overrun with the broadminded." -Archbishop Fulton Sheen
There is nothing that duct tape cannot fix.
...built-in Skype app and the head tracking I believe is required for glasses-free 3D for multiple viewers. Not surprised about the lack of a camera/mic status light, although that probably has more to do with some designer's idea of aesthetics than Orwell.
If you're really concerned about this, just don't hook up the networking. Cameras and microphones are useless if they can't send their data anywhere useful. Sure, you lose the Skype but you keep the glasses-free 3D. I mean really, who actually needs an Internet-connected TV?
Just change a toddlers diaper in front of the TV and then complain to the FBI that Samsung and their 3rd party partners are trafficking child porn.
1.) rig a secondary/tertiary monitor output on a nearby desktop and wire it to the TV's camera/audio input.
2.) set the computer output to a nonstop 24/7 loop of "Friday" by Rebecca Black, along with a slide show that alternates between Goatse, 2 girls 1 cup, and horse porn.
3.) bask in the fact that somwhere, someone is regretting the release of this technology.
4.) Don't EVER cross the wires from step 1.
5.) Profit.
Duh!
Think of it more like "chat roulette".
I have a Samsung TV, and overall I really like it. But with shit like this going on I won't be buying one again.
Bye, Samsung!
"The crows seemed to be calling his name, thought Caw."
I hope it takes a page from the Wii and reminds people to stop watching for a while. They could couple it with shots of the consumer looking like a total zombie to convince them to get the heck up and move around for a while.
Never say never. Ah!! I did it again!
Won't be a problem y'know, if, well... nobody buys the little babysitter. I tend not to fear shit I don't buy. If NO one buys it, they might not be able to sell them, amirite? *shakes head*... this is the shit I bring up when people complain about Big Banks. Don't USE a Big Bank, refuse to go to car dealerships that use Big Banks, and eventually, it'll all trickle down into those Big Banks failing. When it comes to this brand-spanking new throwback to '84, I don't care what doohickeys the thing has, keep it outta my living room, kthxbi.
You want to know how to help your kids? LEAVE THEM THE F*&K ALONE. --George Carlin
I mean their selected partners and 3rd party apps wouldn't do anything evil, right?
I wonder if I can continuously loop 2 girls 1 cup through the video stream?
Does it mean if it sees a break-in, it will call the cops for me?
I'll go out on a limb here and say:
This TV is going to end up capturing so much footage of bored men fapping to porn.
I like big butts and I cannot lie.
that netflix-streaming laptop has a camera and mic too. throw in a coupon, offer a free "app" or "show" or something to get their attention. if all else fails just do it anyway. we all know the repercussions for a major multinational conglomerate violating your personal privacy basically amount to a dog and pony show anyhow.
Good people go to bed earlier.
Is there even a chance that someone with a big HDTV with a connection to Netflix, Hulu, and some crappy ISP offering would also be interested in talking to someone else via video conferencing, just like those laptops they were selling approximately 10 years ago? HDTV "apps" that respond to gestures or voice commands? Just sayin'. Now, it would of course be far better if there's a switch or setting to deactivate those microphones and cameras, because no one wants to put unsightly masking tape over the camera aperture of their brand new tv, but nerds who post on Slashdot are supposed to have enough brains to work around these problems.
Just don't buy it.
One of my TVs and a BluRay player are Samsung. The TV picture is fine, but it lacks connectivity features which I admittedly should have researched before I bought it.
The BR player though has these but it is extremely clunky. Their "Internet@TV" (Apps) no longer work. It wants to install something even though it says it has the latest firmware. Research on the internet tells me other people have had the same problem, but I could find no solution. But wait - Samsung has online chat support. Wonderful. I tried it several times and after spending ~15 minutes letting them go through their troubleshooting script the first 2 support people just disappeared. A 3rd try ended by directing me to a page for further support (I forget their terminology). I asked what's this? It wants the model and serial number and I can't even enter either. She tells me to use Internet Explorer. By now I'm getting annoyed. I told her I don't have IE (a lie) and ask what this will do for me? (Will they direct me to a service center? Will I have to ship it somewhere? Is this a 2nd-level support that can provide a solution?) After a minute or 2 she tells me I'll have to ship it somewhere. She believes there is an internal hardware failure that requires service. There's no way I'm going to do that. The apps suck (mostly silly children's games) and Netflix and the disc player itself are fine and I have no idea how long I will be without them if I ship it. I didn't even ask if I would have to pay (I assume I would since it's 2 years old). I'd sooner buy a new BluRay player.
Last night NetFlix started acting up (freezing - not responding at all except to completely exit or turn the machine off entirely). It also has problems with certain BluRay discs - completely unwatchable.
If this article is at all accurate - and indeed it mostly asks questions - I don't want that stuff in my home.
problem solved. A John Tesh or Yonni CD is an acceptable substitutes.
There is no right to feel safe thru security vaudeville at the expense of everyone's freedom, privacy and tax money.
You may wonder how this happened. Fortunately, I can guess.
The CEO of Samsung watches Microsoft and Apple and wants to compete. How can he be more abusive? That's his answer.
Be thankful he isn't trying to compete with the NSA and CIA. If he was, the TV would listen and watch while it killed you.
Yeah, who needs oversight committees for corporations. They never do anything wrong, trust the free market, because you can always buy a TV from a manufacturer who DOESN'T do this, until they all do it because there's so much profit to be made by selling the data. Of course I suppose the free market is still at work here, because people could decide between NOT watching spy-TV or watching it and giving up their privacy, TV isn't a constitutional RIGHT. Hmm... I appear to have confused myself.
https://www.accountkiller.com/removal-requested
Boy, you are retarded. How about getting a life?
At least HAL showed a red light.
now we need to go OSS in diesel cars
Samsung: Watching you fap since 2012!
If this thing videos some teenagers screwing, will employees of the company be prosecuted under child porn laws? Will the teenagers be arrested for making child porn?
Hey Anonymous Coward - once they invent some kind of "wave" that travels "wirelessly" through the air and transmits information... Then I bet you'll really be embarrassed! Think about it - we could possibly receive information WITHOUT A WIRE. I'm going to call it.. the radio.
-Clio
Karma: Bad (mostly from not giving a fuck)
Blog: http://clintjcl.wordpress.com
Isn't it a little ironic posting as an AC, but asserting privacy has no value and that it should be given up for better lousy TV? That is truly redonk.
Maybe if Uncle Sam or the 1% are really obsessed with watching everybody on their telescreens in HDTV resolution, maybe they'll be forced to improve the upstream speed of my internet connection.
Link it to chat roulette?
As an online discussion grows longer, the probability of a reference to Godwin's Law approaches 1
I'm through with samsung after dealing with their product shortcomings and flaws that they refuse to fix or replace. I'm stuck with samsung tv with uneven light blotches, and a hard drive that won't stop going to sleep mode because they forced it to in hardware, independent of your computer settings.
Chances are, this lengthy, nonsensical rant was written by one of the following:
1) Someone who works in an industry which would benefit greatly from being able to spy on people in their homes, or
2) Some troll who obviously watches entirely too much television.
One has to wonder how well the leash fits, and whether or not this mongrel is aware they're wearing one.
Now, sit, Ubu, sit... Good boy.
An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
A related sci-fi book: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Light_of_Other_Days "The Light of Other Days is a 2000 science fiction novel written by Stephen Baxter based on a synopsis by Arthur C. Clarke, which explores the development of wormhole technology to the point where information can be passed instantaneously between points in the space-time continuum. ... The novel examines the philosophical issues that arise from the world's population (increasingly suffering from ecological and political disturbances) being aware that they could be under constant observation by anyone, or that they could observe anyone without their knowledge. ..."
There are a couple other similar sci-fi stories as well, including one about "Slow Glass" by Bob Shaw with the same name as that novel.
http://strick.net/blog/041103.html
And one about a similar time viewer (I forget the name).
A good thing to keep in mind is, just because we can do something, does not mean we should.
http://lostechies.com/derickbailey/2009/02/11/solid-development-principles-in-motivational-pictures/
http://lostechies.com/derickbailey/files/2011/03/SingleResponsibilityPrinciple2_71060858.jpg
What kind of word do we want to live in, and what kind of world do we want for our children, and children's children, and so on, for seven or more generations?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_generation_sustainability
A 21st century issue: the irony of technologies of abundance in the hands of those still thinking in terms of scarcity.
Doubleplus Ungood.
I wonder how much they pay people to install these things? I would be willing to put one in a closet or some empty, unused room if they paid me well enough for it. :-|
9/11 Eyewitnesses to Explosive WTC Demolition 1 of 2
I thought you were buying this thing.
Warning: this article may contain humor, sarcasm, parody, and perhaps even irony. Read at your own risk.
Problem solved.
---- Booth was a patriot ----
The television has detected more persons in the room than this content is licensed for.
Please reduce the number of persons in the room, or press the RED button to authorise a payment of a $X per additional person in the room.
And when you gaze long into a TV, the TV also gazes into you.
I guess the terms of use can insight feelings of 1984 if you're pessimistic about it, and the lack of an indicator light is careless design, but the 1984 fears seem a bit hyperbolic to me. In 1984 the TVs were mandated and the government was plugged into each camera. There doesn't seem to be any malice here - I doubt Samsung has an interest in shaping the world in the form of an Orwellian nightmare. Rather, this just seems to be a cultural oversight - doing business in foreign lands leads to those and those in business love to tell anecdotes about them - Mexican Novas, Nothing Sucks Like Electrolux, etc. Whereas American engineers and marketing people would be quick to concern themselves about any parallels to Oceania because almost everyone reads 1984 in American schools and top-hat capitalists naively use it to defend their views, Korean engineers and marketing people probably didn't think about such concerns. This seems to be the way all TVs are going, and when Samsung realizes that models with indicator lights for the camera sell better they'll probably implement it (I'm sure there's no indicator light because that would have added a couple of pennies onto the cost of production or it never even crossed anyones mind as necessary, not because the evil people at Samsung want to spy on unsuspecting couch potatoes).
A much better literary analogy would be the TVs in Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit-451. That's the goal of all TV and game console companies, and that's what this thing sounds like to me. Samsung doesn't want to spy on you. They just want you to sit your fat ass in front of their TV all day and buy services from them with it. Unless they have some secret contract with the NSA . . . *puts on tinfoil hat*
"From the depths of my skeptical and rationalist soul, I ask the Lord to protect me from California touchie-feeliedom."
Was a die hard Samsung fan for many years. This underhanded practice only assures that I will never buy one of their products again. I guess it's Vizio (or some other manufacturer with a decent picture).
You know what, maybe it's time to complete re-evaluate my technology picture - perhaps I should ditch all forms of connected devices (smartphones, gaming systems, TVs, whatever) and revert to the "old" ways when people weren't so interested in finding out everything about me.
I honestly have no idea how y'all in the UK tolerate all those damn cameras - I saw the "burning Gatso" site, and was openly appreciative of the hard work folks have put in destroying those damn things - it's creepy how close to 1984 we're getting.
Oh well, back to the cave for me.
Ha! Excellent. We knew you were going to say that. Well, Trevor didn't think you would say that this time but he's an idiot. Any of the rest of us on your case could have predicted it. That will be $5 Trevor, in clean crisp $1 bills please.
And yet I bet you have a smartphone and I bet the camera isn't blocked and the microphone hole open.
I found it shocking that Facebook iPhone app was downloading users phone contacts to their servers, and not one authority took any action against Facebook, hardly a whisper of criticism even. So much for privacy protections.
Speaking of stopping at the top of escalator: http://xkcd.com/954/
If someone is passing you on the right, you are an asshole for driving in the wrong lane.
Some tape could easily take care of it if you are paranoid.
Stop this.
Anything can be monitored.
And there are many ways to avoid that. Software or hardware.
Samsung produces GREAT TVs with incredible panels (expecially the high end 46" (and over).
I had a neighbor who told me he didn't want an HD TV because 'they can listen to and watch you'. Now I have to go apologize for not believing him. Perhaps I'll bring an offering of tinfoil.
TV tunes you in! But seriously. Want privacy? Its called "show me on the tv, and then put duct tape over the camera".
Please explain to me why not having an indicator light is significant. The manufacturer controls how the entire thing is built, so it could also easily build in a function to use the camera but without making any status light come on. As I type this the status light of the camera in my Lenovo laptop is off.. But is the camera off, really?
Bit of a silly article. If you don't like web cams (or any camera) then just say so. Makes no sense to fully trust Logitech but not Samsung or anyone else.
Encore for the tinfoilers: every iPhone comes with one or two cameras. And you really don't know about the software that runs it.
Next.
In Soviet Russia, joke tells you!
You never expect irony, do you?
Want to be a professional wrestler? Visit www.iyfwrestling.com
@iyfwrestling
http://img40.imageshack.us/img40/1736/200905amusingourselvest.png
This is the Chuck Norris TV, you don't watch it, it watches you.
Some Asian chick is going to be watching me spank to porn............. can I pay extra for this???
I wonder if this device was at all inspired by this story?
Do they really want to watch me watching a porn movie?
But then...
Think of all the school-girls making-out on their parents' sofa. What happens when '1984' meets child-porn laws?
This shit should and is illegal and yet everyone under the sun is doing it now that US government has said they will spy on everyone. Im getting tired of this crap. Right now you can avoid this shit but... In a few years your "Smart" appliances such as toaster, wash, drier, dishwasher, TV, Stereo, DVD player, and fridge (with RFID reader to read you contents) will all be in sync with your "Smart" Meter to report to every government agency and company ad services for anything they want. This is Bullshit that we have to even entertain this. So many stupid people will buy these and careless that humping in front of the TV the company gets a free peek, or worse the government gets to tap in without a warrant of course.
Pay per viewer is a real issue. Sports bars are supposed to purchase public performance licenses. Now the NFL can enforce that.
Comment removed based on user account deletion
I'm a pretty hairy guy, I'm getting a bit of a tummy and I watch the TV 1-2 hours each night shirtless. Poor, poor surveilance guys. :D
Buy two TV's, make them watch each other.
So why connect the TV to the internet, when we know that it can open the door to Orwellian surveillance?
Duct tape !
Early versions of the uvcvideo driver for linux didn't turn on the light on my quickcam pro 9000 while capturing. Later versions would turn on the light, so on that model at least the light was clearly controlled independently.
I still have a TV set made in 1985, and it works flawlessly, connected to a dvb-s and dvb-t receiver. It's big, with woodgrain and has a funky 20 W audio amplifier. It's the right TV set to watch reruns of the A Team, George & Mildred and Derrick. Why I have to buy a more complex TV set that tries to mimic a computer, with buggy software, complex menus and so on, but with puny little speakers ripped from a speakerphone?
Yes, that was my first thought too: "Can it see through tape?"
But of course the TV will be designed to not operate if the camera is obstructed. Better to just not have a TV at all.
Proverbs 21:19
Ernst & Young has developed software which identifies potential corporate criminals by inferring their mental state from their electronic communications. They are literally policing employees' thoughts: using their mental states to flag them as criminal suspects. Here's an article about it from the Economist: http://www.economist.com/node/21547833
First of all, this TV was presented in January, so this is 2 months old.
Secondly, the camera is for gesture and facial recognition, used to interact with the UI of anything that runs on the TV platform, of course including any 3rd party application(app store, hello?). Its the exact same thing as Kinect. So this is just pure tinfoilhattism.
"I'm sorry, you cannot continue watching your regularly scheduled programming until you view the following message from our sponsors / message from our government"
How long before this is implemented? With PVR now, you can skip through ads, much to the disdain of advertisers. If you don't have that right now, at least you can change the channel or leave the room or something during a commercial. With this technology, maybe you'll be forced to actually watch the commercials now...
Global warming and other natural disasters are a direct effect of the shrinking number of pirates - Gospel of the FSM
I should have been doing this all along with laptop purchases, but I know that next time I buy a TV or laptop I will ask if it has a built in camera and if so, how do I work the lens cover.
I often don't like the choices people make, but I like the fact that people make choices. That's why I'm a conservative.
i wrote this in 1998 (14 years ago), on the first page of my book, Playing for Profit (published by John Wiley & Sons).
Is the new ceiling cat.
5, AC, 5!
Upward mobility is a slippery slope - the higher you climb the more you show your ass.
Why not just use a packet sniffer like Wireshark to detect if its actually sending video or audio? It would leave no mystery and lay all paranoia to rest...or put you in good position for a lawsuit.
Extra Cash Back:
6.) Return TV set to shop with the message "This television seems to be broken, it only plays crap!"
7.) More Profit!
--- I am known for the ones who want to find me on the net. Is that a privacy risk or a privilege? One might wonder..
I own a Samsung TV and I always thought I was being watched.
It's illegal to record someone's voice in Washington state without their previous consent. Anyone who unwillingly come into contact could bring damages and civil lawsuits against the person who owns the TV as well as any companies involved in the transfer of this data.
And what if the only way to change channels is Kinect-style hand-waving?
Or voice controlled -- "Let me watch the game, please"
--
Law of truly large numbers - almost all numbers are larger than you can imagine.
You know, if you don't connect this to you Internet, there's no harm. If you do, you could always crack it open and cut the mic and camera wires.....or thick, dark tape over both if you're not hardware savvy.
It's not just the microphones and cameras they don't tell you about. Last I checked, my Blu-Ray player was telling them which movies I was watching, and how many times I replayed the tracks with the hot chicks.