Privacy in the Age of Smart Devices

This post is reflective writing based on Maheshwari’s article published in the New York Times. Out of personal interest, I had expressed my take on the subject back in February 2017, and shared it with some acquaintances during that time. After some thoughts, I decided to find it a permanent hanger here.

The continued growth in the “big data” technological market sets a fast pace of competition in the consumer electronics market. This article sheds light on data privacy’s principal issue, specifically highlighting the consequence of consumer data collection by a TV manufacturer without its users’ consent or a proper disclosure. The author uses external sources and research data showing the level of consumers’ repulse to the unwarranted spoofing by Smart TVs, specifically the conduct of these practices by Vizio, a Smart TV manufacturer, appear to be deceptive and unfair. The article urges an important sense of caution to other competing consumer electronic manufacturers while serving a public good by informing the consumer society of its choices in electronic products and services.

As the article explains, personal data collected from consumer electronic devices such as TV sets or other portable devices have opened a new privacy law paradigm. Due to the usual reliance on internet connectivity between consumer electronic devices and peripherals, a connected Smart TV can easily access detailed information of its users, including the time of day such devices are used and its users’ behavioral interests. Such information allows the TV manufacturers to observe and analyze consumers’ activity, which can translate into further business revenue opportunities by either targeting specific ads of interest to its consumers or selling such data to others. Vizio, which engages in a similar data collection business, makes revenue from several data collection platforms employed by it, including “audience measurement.” Moreover, Vizio also sold such unauthorized private data collected to undisclosed business entities, claiming its data partners. Besides being an unfair business practice, one would argue that it could present a profound legal issue. Assuming that there are specific consumer protection regulations like the Electronic Communication Privacy Act and Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act – both relating to the collection and disclosure of electronic communication, it is reasonable to assume that Vizio and other similar smart TV manufacturers should be held accountable for their actions within the legal framework of these legislations.

As the second-largest TV brand in North America, Vizio has a major presence within this region’s consumer electronics market. With such a large consumer base, Vizio would have reached a broad spectrum of its consumers’ private data. Ms. Maheshwari astutely points out the pecuniary gains by Vizio on compromising or at least using its consumers’ valuable information collected from them without their knowledge. According to the author, during Vizio’s IPO launch in 2015, Vizio stated that it “collected 100 billion anonymized viewing data points each day” from its TVs. Some informed consumers took it to social media, which possibly sparked consumer resentment as a response to Vizio’s business practice, eventually costing it the loss of its IPO prospects from investors that year.

A few very interesting assertions and conclusions came out from FTC’s lawsuit from the unabridged experience of Vizio’s dramatic court litigation and settlement. First, FTC affirmed that it warns companies to equip themselves with the knowledgeable boundaries they conduct business within the consumer electronics market. Second, they defined the “sensitive information” category as something that includes “individualized TV viewing activity” by consumers. And third, “consumers be given a choice to opt into sharing sensitive data” rather than opt-out choice.

The FTC has accentuated data privacy issues in consumer electronics, which are almost becoming more common in the growing technology-driven consumer market. The “Internet of Things” raised new hopes for business enterprises and consumers alike to achieve what may have been almost unimaginable only a few years ago. However, drawing fine lines between what’s fair and ethical in the consumer electronics business and what’s not is more relevant than ever before. All in all, the developmental stride in the connectivity of ever-increasing electronics to internet intelligence offers benefits. Nonetheless, it also brings into the limelight the importance of ethical business practices in collecting and using consumers’ private data.