In a statement to Tom's Hardware, TV manufacturer LG has strongly denied recent claims that its smart TVs constantly log and upload data, record audio while in standby, while confirming they scan local area networks for other devices, a feature common in smart TVs and media devices. The statement follows an investigation published online by Gamers Nexus, which claims LG is operating "216,000,000" spy TVs.
Earlier this week, Gamers Nexus published a video on YouTube claiming that LG smart TVs have several security and privacy concerns. The two-hour video claims, among other things, that LG's smart TVs constantly log and upload user data, even when offline or in standby mode. The TVs were also purported to be found scanning Wi-Fi networks, recording audio logs, and sampling inputs for audio and video to identify what users were watching.
The testing was done in collaboration with two security researchers, MrBruh and uturn, and includes packet capture and firmware analysis. The TVs were reportedly seen identifying other devices on local networks, including phones, printers, and more. Perhaps the most significant claim regards the capturing of audio through TV microphones, even when the devices were off, with the report claiming the TVs stored data when offline for retrieval later on.
"The claims made in the recently published video are not true," LG told Tom's Hardware in a statement. "LG TVs process voice data only when the voice button on the remote control is pressed and held, or when a wake word such as 'Hi LG' is recognized after the user has activated the Far-Field voice recognition feature."
LG went on to say that beyond the aforementioned instances, "the TVs do not collect or record ambient conversations." The company further stated that if the wake word is not recognized, then no voice data is transmitted from the TV to the server, and said audio processing for the wake word is done on-device.
The company did admit its smart TV functionality includes scanning for devices on the same network. However, as many observers have been quick to point out, LG says this is a standard function of all smart TVs and other smart home devices.
Automatic content recognition (ACR) is an opt-in feature according to LG, which delivers personalized content recommendations, as well as services and advertisements. The company says that, as standard, ACR data isn't used for advertising purposes without consent.
Addressing some of the claims in more detail, LG stated that its smart TVs don't collect, record, or transmit ambient conversations in the home unless voice functionality has been activated by a user. It further stated that its far-field voice recognition tech (Hi LG) must be activated by a user before the TV starts listening, much like Apple's "Hey Siri" mechanism for iPhone.
LG did confirm that its TVs monitor for Hi LG's wake word while in standby mode, but says that unless the wake word is detected, the audio is only processed locally before being deleted. The company didn't address some of the other claims and vulnerabilities pointed out in the video, such as the storing of transcripts in plain text.
Tom's Hardware has not independently verified either the claims made by Gamers Nexus in its documentary or LG's counterclaims regarding the issue. LG's full statement follows:
LG Statement:
This is to provide LG's position regarding the claims recently raised by the Gamers Nexus YouTube channel.
The claims made in the recently published video are not true. LG TVs process voice data only when the voice button on the remote control is pressed and held, or when a wake word such as 'Hi LG' is recognized after the user has activated the Far-Field voice recognition feature. Other than these instances, the TVs do not collect or record ambient conversations. (If the wake word is not recognized, no voice data is transmitted to the server; the audio processing for wake word detection is performed locally on the device and is immediately deleted.)
Additionally, to provide smart TV functionalities, LG TVs feature the ability to scan for and connect to nearby devices on the same network. This is a standard function commonly provided by smart TVs and smart home devices.
The ACR (Automatic Content Recognition) feature is provided on an opt-in basis to deliver personalized content recommendation, services, and advertisements. If a user does not consent to the applicable optional agreement, ACR data is not used for advertising purposes.
Topic by topic breakdown:
At LG Electronics, we are committed to transparency and secure user experience. To clarify recent concerns and reiterate our commitment, we would like to emphasize the following points:
Protecting Voice Privacy: We ensure that your LG TV does not collect, record or transmit ambient conversations in your home, unless voice functionality has been intentionally activated by the user.
Far-Field Voice Recognition ("Hi LG"): This feature must be manually activated by the user before the TV begins listening for the specific wake word. Audio processing occurs only when voice functionality has been activated by the user and a wake work (such as “Hi LG”) is detected.
Standby Mode Operation: When the TV is in standby mode and appears to be turned off, it only monitors for the wake word if you have previously enabled the Far-Field feature. If no wake word is detected, the audio used for wake word detection is processed locally on the TV, promptly deleted, and is not transmitted to LG servers.
Transparent and Useful Connectivity: LG TVs can identify compatible devices on the same network to enable features such as device connectivity, content sharing or smart home functionality.
Proactive and Continuous Security: Data security is a top priority for LG. We continuously monitor our platform and partner with independent security experts to identify vulnerabilities and deliver timely security updates.
Full Control Over Data and Terms: LG Electronics is committed to providing transparency and rejecting deceptive practices (dark patterns), ensuring users can choose their preferred privacy and consent options directly through their TV settings.
Consent-Based Activation: To provide a more tailored and convenient experience, LG TVs offer Automatic Content Recognition (ACR) to enhance viewing experiences, Voice Recognition for hands-free control, and Interest-Based Advertising to deliver relevant advertisements. Each feature requires separate explicit user opt-in consent and can be disabled at any time through the TV settings.
Now the UK government plans to introduce new legislation that would see companies face fines and potential criminal liability, and signaled similar plans could extend to Snapchat and Instagram.
A Google começou a alterar os resultados de pesquisa na Europa para cumprir com o DMA da UE, mas avisa que a experiência dos utilizadores vai piorar, e os custos para empresas locais vão subir.
In today’s episode of Uncanny Valley, we discuss how ICE has been collecting DNA samples of people who have no criminal convictions, including children, which end up in an FBI database indefinitely.
Elon Musk’s Colossus data centers that sit near the border between Tennessee and Mississippi will finally be removed starting this month. According to the company, the 69 temporary mobile turbines, which have been the subject of a lawsuit that claims they have been causing pollution, are going to be completely removed by July 2027, meaning it will take the company 12 months to withdraw the trailer-mounted generators from its premises. This may sound confusing, as they’re “portable” generators, after all, but it seems that SpaceXAI is removing them in phases as its 1.2GW power plant slowly comes online.
SpaceXAI achieved one of the fastest data center deployments ever after it set up 100,000 Nvidia H200 GPUs in 19 days — something that Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said usually takes four years or more. Musk achieved this by bringing in his own power instead of waiting to get connected to the grid, which was considered a novel idea at that time. Today, a few data center operators, like OpenAI, are following Musk’s footsteps and deploying their own turbines to power their servers without relying on other providers.
But even though the idea feels innovative, the community surrounding the Colossus 1 and Colossus 2 data centers has been complaining about the pollution that these mobile turbines bring. They say that these turbines didn’t have the required permits to operate, although the company argued that the mobile and temporary nature of these units exempted them. The EPA said earlier this year that these units aren’t exempt from permits, but SpaceXAI continued to operate them anyway. It has even got to the point that the NAACP filed a case over these unpermitted turbines, although the DOJ weighed in, saying that removing them would put national security at risk as Colossus 2 “supports mission-critical operations.”
Despite that, it seems that SpaceXAI has finally settled into an agreement with the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality. It’s if the 1.2GW power plant replacing these mobile turbines is the same one that Musk is importing from overseas, but the important part is that it’s approved under a Clean Air Act permit. Aside from that, the company also said that it’s equipping all its mobile turbines with “advanced emission control technologies,” which should reduce the environmental impact of its power sources.
Tech enthusiasts are a passionate bunch, and the rich ones among them are willing to put their money where their mouth is. This is exactly what we see with a signed Steve Jobs business card from 1983, which is posted on RR Auction and is going for $70,741 at the time of writing. What made this relic special is that Job’s business cards from 1983 are a rare commodity and remain in high demand from collectors. It also received a Gem Mint 10 grade — the highest possible rating from PSA/DNA and is certified to be authentic.
RR AuctionRR Auction
RR Auction says that it has auctioned off 15 Steve Jobs business cards in its history, but only four of those come from 1983. This is also only the second one to bear the signature of Apple’s founder, which was put on the auction block in 2024 and fetched an eye-watering $180,000. The card on auction right now isn’t exactly perfect, with the website describing it as “In fine condition, with light soiling and staple holes to the upper section, none of which affect the bold signature.” Still, there’s at least 16 bids on the item, and the next bid is currently listed at $77, 816.
This isn’t the first time that an item related to an iconic founder has fetched thousands of dollars on the auction block. Just last month, Sotheby’s estimated that Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s iconic Tom Ford leather jacket, which costs $9,000 if you buy it new, would get up to $60,000. However, when the hammer finally closed the auction, the winning bid hit $960,000, which, we believe, is driven by Jensanity.
Unfortunately, if you’re not into the personal effects of CEOs and want something more substantial, you’ll probably have to fork out a lot more money. One example we have is the Apple-1 ‘Prototype Board #0,’ which sold for $2,750,000. Aside from costing a lot of money, these are rare finds, and you’ll have to wait years, if not decades, to get a chance at owning something so exceptional. But if you have a hole burning in your pocket and want to start a tech-related collection, but find the Steve Jobs business card a bit above your budget, an unreleased batch of 97 Duck Hunt and Super Mario Bros. NES cartridges has recently been discovered at a retro shop, most of which are graded 9.6 or higher by PSA. Three examples are about to enter auction on August 12, and they’re estimated to start at four figures, which might make it more “attainable” to fledgling collections.
A number of major Chinese smartphone makers have adopted silicon carbon batteries in their handsets, and now Samsung has embraced it in the new Fold lineup.
Amazon, Google, Meta, and Microsoft have spent more than a trillion dollars on AI infrastructure, including data centers, the chips inside them, and the power needed to run the facilities, since 2023. The Financial Timessaid that these four big companies have already hit $1.1 trillion in capital expenditure based on their latest earnings reports, and that an additional $745 billion is expected to be added to this figure just this year.
“There is basically no end in sight for the growth in capex,” RBC Capital analyst Rishi Jaluria told the publication. “Investors need these companies to toe the tight line between investing in AI and not compromising the things that have made them successful.” This massive investment has upended several other industries — namely electricity prices and memory and storage chips. The massive power demand that data centers have put on the power grid has forced many U.S. utility companies to spend billions of dollars to upgrade their respective infrastructure, which they then passed on to all consumers, not just the big ones that forced the upgrade.
This, alongside other environmental issues, has caused many Americans to push back against data center projects near their communities. The White House instituted the “ratepayer protection pledge” and made AI hyperscalers, utility operators, data center companies, and individual states promise that they will protect the average consumer from electricity cost increases. But so far, no state has taken a step to codify this pledge into law. Oregon actually enacted the POWER Act, which resulted in a 30% increase in the power bill of users that consumed more than 20MW while slashing the bills of residents by 1.3%, but the state did this in 2025, way before President Donald Trump called the tech giants into the White House and told them to “pay their own way.”
The mountains of cash that these tech giants are pouring into AI are also affecting the memory and storage chip industry. Since these AI hyperscalers have a lot of liquidity from investors, they are willing to pay top dollar for the HBM they need to run their data centers. Because of this, it made sense for Micron, Samsung, and SK hynix to prioritize them over DRAM, especially as they can charge a premium for these chips and there are customers who are willing to pay at those prices. This resulted in a shortage of consumer memory that started in 2025 — while this initially affected PC builders and enthusiasts, it has started to affect other industries that require memory as well, including cars and smartphones. Even Apple, which historically had huge sway over its suppliers, was forced to increase prices because of the shortages.
Aside from skewing other industries, the massive CAPEX the big four are going into is alarming some experts, warning that the promises and contracts they’re making are leading to “hidden debt” not listed in their balance sheets. The amount, worth around $1.65 trillion, is annotated in their quarterly financial statements as future obligations that will only come into play as the related asset or service comes online. The current value is 122% of the actual debt reflected on their balance sheets, which could give investors the wrong impression that they have fewer obligations than they actually have.
While the amount of money that the big four are spending on AI might seem dizzyingly high, we must note that these companies are raking in massive amounts of cash quarterly themselves. Microsoft’s latest quarterly revenue is $90 billion, while Meta made $60 billion in the same period. Alphabet (Google) announced revenue of nearly $120 billion, while Amazon made $200 billion. That is a total of nearly $470 billion for these companies in just the last quarter.
Still, that does not mean that they can just keep on spending on AI. For example, even though Google’s cloud business had a revenue of $11 billion last year, its price dropped after it announced that it spent more than it made last quarter — the first time this happened in the 20 years since it went public. Meta is also planning to rent out its AI compute, apparently following in the footsteps of Amazon, Google, and Microsoft, which have growing cloud businesses. However, this announcement caused a drop in its stock price. “They are a bit all over the place,” SLC Management managing director Dec Mullarkey told FT. “For investors it’s no longer growth at any cost; they want to see the spending flowing through to results, like at the Big Three.”
Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg (pictured) outlined his high-stakes vision for AI across consumer and enterprise markets during a Q2 investor call, casting the technological transition as a massive commercial opportunity despite heavy infrastructure outlays and operational charges weighing on profitability.
Zuckerberg detailed three primary expansion pillars driving Meta’s long-term strategy. He noted AI investments are actively boosting performance across the main portfolio by improving user experiences, optimising return on investment for advertisers and enabling internal product teams to ship software faster.
Looking ahead, Zuckerberg stated that Meta is “developing new personal agents that will be the foundation for our next wave of products and revenue lines in the months and years ahead”.
Expanding beyond consumer applications, he highlighted a growing commercial footprint, pointing to “a large enterprise opportunity to sell to businesses, including APIs, business agents, potentially selling compute directly, and other services that we’re building for large customers”.
Q2 financial performance Meta delivered strong Q2 top-line performance, driven by continuous gains across its AI-enhanced advertising suite, though rapid infrastructure spending and operational charges squeezed overall profitability below Wall Street expectations.
Meta generated $60.8 billion in revenue, representing a 28% increase compared to $47.5 billion in the same period last year. However, net income dropped 14% to $15.8 billion.
Advertising revenue accounted for $59.8 billion of total sales, up 28% year-over-year. This growth was supported by high adoption of AI automated ad features, with ad impressions growing 14% year-over-year across its Family of Apps and the average price per ad climbing 12%.
Family Daily Active People reached an average of 3.6 billion in June, reflecting a 3% increase year-over-year.
Total costs and expenses surged 55% to $42 billion, heavily weighed down by $2.4 billion in legal proceeding charges as well as $1.2 billion in severance expenses following restructuring in May.
Driven by the aggressive capex ramp and operational charges, free cash flow dropped 91% year-over-year to $784 million, compared to $8.5 billion in the prior-year period.
Capital expenditures jumped to $31 billion from $17 billion, including principal payments on finance leases, as Meta continued to scale its computing infrastructure, servers, and data centres to expand generative AI capabilities.
Looking ahead, the social media giant issued a Q3 revenue forecast of $61 billion to $64 billion.
For the full year, Meta maintained its capital expenditure guidance at $130 billion to $145 billion and anticipates total expenses between $165 billion and $169 billion, while reiterating full-year operating income is expected to exceed prior-year levels.
Highlighting engagement growth across its app suite, Zuckerberg noted Threads crossed 500 million monthly active users, “making it the fastest-growing conversation app ever,” while Facebook reached more than 2 billion daily active users a while ago.
“WhatsApp just hit an all-time messaging record, peaking at 30 million messages sent per second during the World Cup final,” he said.
Meta’s Reality Labs division, which houses the company’s VR and AR hardware efforts including Quest headsets and smart glasses, continued to weigh on overall profitability.
The unit posted an operating loss of $4.6 billion, widening slightly from a year earlier, on revenue of just $431 million, up from $370 million in the same period last year.
In the final weeks before Romania’s presidential vote in November 2024, TikTok accounts that had previously spent years posting about manicures or fashion suddenly started promoting a little-known politician named Calin Georgescu.
His posts, espousing hard-line views on immigration and anti-Semitic tropes, were viewed 120 million times before the vote. Georgescu, who had previously been polling in the single digits, stunned observers by winning the election’s first round with 23 percent of the vote.
In the Netherlands, Adriana Iamnitchi was watching closely. As chair of computational social sciences at Maastricht University, she leads the research into disinformation campaigns. She wanted to know how pro-Georgescu content was being monetized on TikTok through hidden influencer marketing and livestreamed political content.
On this episode of Uncanny Valley, we dive into accusations that China’s Moonshot AI stole from Anthropic, and how the US Army needs to cut back on AI use.
On this episode of Uncanny Valley, we dive into accusations that China’s Moonshot AI stole from Anthropic, and how the US Army needs to cut back on AI use.
Intel and AMD are reportedly negotiating long-term CPU supply agreements with Chinese customers as AI demand drives higher server processor prices and tighter supply.
Mobile World Live (MWL) brings you our top three picks of the week as Apple took OpenAI to court over alleged trade secret theft, New York hit pause on mega data centre projects amid rising energy concerns and Nokia unveiled an AI-native RAN platform built around Nvidia’s systems.
Apple launches trade secret lawsuit against OpenAI
What happened: Apple filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, its design startup io Products subsidiary, and former Apple employees, accusing them of a “pattern of theft” of trade secrets tied to the AI giant’s budding hardware ambitions.
Why it matters: The complaint accused OpenAI’s hardware unit, now led by ex-Apple design chief Tang Yew Tan, of using confidential product designs, insider manufacturing knowledge and supplier relationships lifted by former Apple staff. Tan allegedly pushed job candidates to bring “actual parts” from Apple to interviews for a “show and tell. ” Apple accused OpenAI, the former Apple employees, and io Products of “acting in concert and as an enterprise” to advance its hardware ambitions. Later this week, Bloomberg reported OpenAI is readying a smart speaker based on ChatGPT’s AI capabilities to enter the consumer hardware market, pitting itself against players including Apple, Amazon, and Google. Saad Filali, founder of legal advisory assistant 9Anoun AI, called the lawsuit “a real overhang” on OpenAI, warning the case “could delay its first hardware launch and complicate IPO plans.” The trial also marks a particular souring of relations between the two companies. In 2024, outgoing Apple CEO Tim Cook partnered with OpenAI to build ChatGPT into iPhones as the company chased fresh AI features. However, the iPhone-maker has shifted more of its workload to Google’s Gemini this year.
What happened: New York became the first US state to halt approvals for new hyperscale data centres, introducing a one-year moratorium on facilities requiring 50 megawatts or more of power.
Why it matters: The executive order signed by Governor Kathy Hochul pauses discretionary environmental permits while the state develops new rules to “reduce the risk to our energy grid, minimise land disruption, noise pollution, and protect our natural resources, especially our water supply”. The governor added data centre operators may be required to contribute towards statewide grid investment and announced plans to repeal sales tax exemptions which currently benefit hyperscalers. Rabobank energy transition analyst Payal Kaur attributed the move to “mounting community pushback, which has been successful in stalling/cancelling data centre projects, and upcoming elections”. Meanwhile Chris Ward-Jones, co-founder and COO at cloud company blocz, said “this is more than a local planning decision”, adding, “the next wave of AI infrastructure will need to show not only where its power comes from, but who pays for the grid upgrades”. He explained projects must now show “how local resources are protected and what communities receive in return”. The moratorium reflects a wider industry challenge as companies race to expand AI computing capacity while facing rising resource constraints.
What happened: Nokia unveiled an AI-native RAN platform built around Nvidia systems, claiming it would significantly improve network efficiency while allowing operators to upgrade existing infrastructure through software.
Why it matters: The vendor said the platform already delivers a 20% increase in spectral efficiency, with gains of 50% targeted for 2027 and 100% by 2028. It described the AI-RAN platform as “one of the most significant shifts in radio network architecture in decades”, while CEO Justin Hotard said the technology “makes the network intelligent” and would help operators maximise existing infrastructure. CCS Insight research director Ian Fogg said: “The key proposition is that because Nokia’s AI-RAN is based on a software platform, Nokia and its customers can achieve significant performance improvements in future through new AI models/algorithms and without hardware upgrades.” Fogg also highlighted Nokia’s decision to support third-party silicon “rather than developing in-house silicon for 6G and beyond”, arguing the vendor’s commitment differs from Ericsson’s more open stance on RAN and adding “companies do need to place bets if they wish to gain competitive advantage”. Yet, he flagged unanswered questions around costs, including “performance per watt”, efficiency gains and rising component prices. He explained the vendor’s success will depend on “the economics of this approach and Nokia’s ability to achieve those spectral efficiency boosts”, adding, “the real test will be how well this platform performs in the field trials planned for Q4”.
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