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Senator Schumer wants Security Standards for Smart TV’s

Vladmir Raic
/
Pixabay

US Senator Chuck Schumer wants Central New Yorkers to be protected as one of the hottest electronic items underneath their Christmas trees arrives … Smart TVs.    

"He sees you when you're sleeping, he knows when you're awake... That's okay for Santa Claus. It's not okay for the family TV."

Schumer says recent warnings by the FBI last month and others in recent years demonstrate that hackers can gain access into homes by cameras or microphones installed on Smart TV‘s when they’re hooked up to the internet.  Even worse… data collected by the TV’s themselves can also be hacked.

"This data can be collected by both Smart TV manufacturers as well as affiliated software application developers-- sometimes without the explicit knowledge of consumers. So it's absolutely paramount that this personal information and data must be stored in a secure setting with tight data safeguards. Manufacturers have to acknowledge the rights to consumers."

Schumer is calling on the Federal Trade Commission to investigate the data protection and security standards that Smart TV manufacturers are installing in their products.  He is also requesting the National Institute of Standards in Technology to brief Congress on a recent public comment period to add to its list of six security recommendations.

John Smith has been waking up WAER listeners for a long time as our Local Co-Host of Morning Edition with timely news and information, working alongside student Sportscasters from the Newhouse School.