The Texas smart TV lawsuit is actually five separate lawsuits filed by Attorney General Ken Paxton in December 2025 against Samsung, LG, Sony, Hisense, and TCL, accusing each company of secretly tracking what Texans watch through a technology called Automated Content Recognition and selling that data to advertisers.1Texas Attorney General. Attorney General Paxton Sues Five Major TV Companies Including Some Ties CCP Spying Texans Samsung and LG have since agreed to stop collecting that data from Texas households without clear, upfront consent. The cases against Sony, Hisense, and TCL are still open.
What Your TV Is Actually Doing
Automated Content Recognition, or ACR, is software built into most modern smart TVs. Roughly every half second, it takes a snapshot of whatever is on your screen, converts it to a digital fingerprint, and matches it against a database to identify the show, movie, ad, or game you’re watching.2Texas Attorney General. Samsung TV Petition Filed It doesn’t matter whether the content comes from a streaming app, a cable box, a Blu-ray player, a gaming console, or a laptop plugged into an HDMI port. If it’s on the screen, ACR sees it.
According to the Samsung petition, manufacturers use those viewing patterns to infer sensitive attributes about a household, including race, political beliefs, religious affiliation, health interests, sexual orientation, and family composition, and then sell the resulting profiles to ad networks, data brokers, and cross-device tracking companies.2Texas Attorney General. Samsung TV Petition Filed Paxton called the practice “invasive, deceptive, and unlawful.”1Texas Attorney General. Attorney General Paxton Sues Five Major TV Companies Including Some Ties CCP Spying Texans
The state also accuses the manufacturers of rigging the consent process. In Samsung’s case, turning ACR on during setup took a single click. Turning it off afterward required more than fifteen clicks across multiple menus, a design the petition labels “Privacy Zuckering” and “Roach Motel.”2Texas Attorney General. Samsung TV Petition Filed Samsung branded its program “Viewing Information Services” and told users it “neither collects any video footage nor any content displayed on the Device,” language the state calls false.
Who Was Sued and Under What Law
Each case was filed in a different Texas county court:
- Samsung in the District Court of Collin County
- LG in Tarrant County
- Sony in Nueces County
- Hisense in Comal County
- TCL in the 368th Judicial District Court of Williamson County (Case No. 25-3563-C368)
All five complaints rely on the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, arguing that hiding the real scope of ACR tracking is itself a deceptive practice.3Courthouse News Service. Texas AG Sues Smart TV Makers Over Data Privacy Each complaint also includes a footnote serving as formal notice under the Texas Data Privacy and Security Act, preserving the state’s ability to add TDPSA claims if the companies don’t cure the alleged violations.4Future of Privacy Forum. U.S. Privacy Enforcement in 2025 Texas is seeking permanent injunctions against all five manufacturers.5The Texan. Texas Sues Five TV Companies Alleging Spying Via Data Collection Practices
The China Allegations Against Hisense and TCL
Two of the five defendants, Hisense and TCL, are based in China, and Paxton treats them differently in the complaints. The suits allege that China’s National Security Law gives the Chinese government legal authority to demand consumer data held by Chinese companies, meaning viewing data gathered from Texas living rooms could reach the Chinese Communist Party.3Courthouse News Service. Texas AG Sues Smart TV Makers Over Data Privacy The Hisense complaint claims the company holds data on about 1.27 million Texans and that its privacy disclosures never mention that data may be transferred to the People’s Republic of China.5The Texan. Texas Sues Five TV Companies Alleging Spying Via Data Collection Practices Paxton argues the CCP could use ACR data to “influence or compromise public figures in Texas, including judges, elected officials, and law enforcement,” and to conduct “corporate espionage by surveilling those employed in critical infrastructure.” A Hisense spokesperson said only that the company “does not comment on pending legal matters.”6The Record. Texas Sues 5 Smart TV Makers Over ACR Tech
What Has Happened in the Cases So Far
The state moved quickly for emergency relief. On January 5, 2026, the District Court of Collin County signed a temporary restraining order (Case No. 380-09751-2025) barring Samsung, its officers, agents, employees, and anyone acting in concert with them from collecting, using, selling, or transferring ACR data from Texas consumers.7Texas Attorney General. Samsung Temporary Restraining Order The order was set to expire on January 19, 2026, but the same court vacated it one day after signing it, on January 6.8BleepingComputer. Texas Court Blocks Samsung From Tracking TV Viewing Then Vacates Order The IAPP reported that temporary restraining orders were issued against both Samsung and Hisense requiring them to remotely disable data collection on devices identified by Texas IP addresses.9IAPP. Automated Content Recognition Technology Takes Privacy Enforcement Spotlight
Samsung became the first manufacturer to resolve its case. On February 26, 2026, Paxton announced that Samsung had agreed to stop collecting ACR data from Texas consumers without first obtaining their express consent.10Texas Attorney General. Attorney General Paxton Secures Major Agreement Samsung Ensure Texans Are Protected Smart TVs Samsung also agreed to update its TVs with “clear and conspicuous” disclosure and consent screens stripped of the dark-pattern designs the state complained about.11Privacy Guides. Samsung Forced to Halt Data Collection in TVs in Texas Without Express Consent No monetary penalty was publicly disclosed.
LG followed on May 11, 2026. Under its agreement, LG will stop collecting ACR viewing data without user consent, add a pop-up disclosure explaining how viewing data is collected and used, provide a clear opt-out, post the disclosure on its website, and refrain from transferring any viewing data to the Chinese Communist Party.12KVUE. AG Paxton LG Data Collection Agreement13Texas Attorney General. Attorney General Ken Paxton Secures Major Agreement LG Protect Texans Privacy LG did not admit liability or wrongdoing, and no monetary penalty was publicly reported.
As of mid-2026, the suits against Sony, Hisense, and TCL remain active. None of the three has announced a settlement, and no trial dates have been publicly reported.13Texas Attorney General. Attorney General Ken Paxton Secures Major Agreement LG Protect Texans Privacy
What It Means for Texas TV Owners
Nothing in the Samsung or LG agreements sends money to individual consumers. What they change is going forward: Samsung and LG TVs sold or set up in Texas are supposed to show a plain disclosure and get your express consent before ACR starts collecting anything. If you already own one of those sets, that doesn’t automatically shut off tracking that was turned on before, so check the settings yourself. Texas residents who believe a manufacturer is still collecting data without consent can file a consumer complaint through the attorney general’s online portal.10Texas Attorney General. Attorney General Paxton Secures Major Agreement Samsung Ensure Texans Are Protected Smart TVs
How to Turn Off ACR on Your TV
Every major brand lets you disable ACR, but the setting is buried in a different place on each one.14Malwarebytes. Samsung TVs Stop Spying on Viewers in Texas Heres How to Disable ACR Anywhere
- Samsung: Settings, then Support, then Terms and Privacy, and switch off Viewing Information Services.
- LG (webOS): General, then System, then Additional Settings, and turn off Live Plus.
- Sony (Google TV): Privacy settings, and disable Samba Interactive TV.
- TCL and Hisense (Roku-based): Privacy settings, and turn off both the personalized ads toggle and the “Use info from TV inputs” toggle.
A Separate Federal Class Action Against Samsung
Samsung also faces a federal class action unrelated to the Texas case. On January 9, 2026, five Samsung TV owners filed DiGiacinto, et al. v. Samsung Electronics America, Inc. (Case No. 1:26-cv-00196) in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, alleging that Samsung’s ACR practices violate the federal Video Privacy Protection Act and privacy laws in California, New York, Vermont, and Maryland. The plaintiffs are seeking statutory damages, injunctive relief, and a jury trial.15Top Class Actions. Samsung Class Action Alleges TVs Illegally Track Viewing Data to Sell for Profit That case is a separate track from the Texas enforcement action and is driven by private plaintiffs rather than the state.