TV may invite the viewer to sue its maker

Think of it as another type of judicial drama on the screen. Smart TV owners Vizio may soon receive a message inviting them to take legal action against the manufacturer.

The Californian company Vizio, one of the largest US television brands, was taken in 2015 to collect large amounts of user data, which were then passed on to advertisers.

It has settled with the US regulator for 2.2 million dollars (1.7 million pounds sterling), but still faces a class action involving potentially millions of customers.

The company could now be forced to directly inform potentially affected owners – via a pop-up message on the screen.

The BBC understands that the note will inform the client of the lawsuit and how to know if it may be involved. If the trial succeeds, customers could receive some of the damages obtained. Only affected clients in the United States are eligible to participate in the lawsuit.

According to US law, notices relating to class actions – the term given to a case that has affected a large number of people – must be communicated in the most efficient manner possible, including individual notification to all members can be identified by reasonable effort.

Generally, this can be done by email, mail or advertisement – but as Vizio TVs are connected to the Internet, lawyers believe that a message on the screen would be an effective option.

However, the idea "requires testing to ensure that any television notice can be properly displayed and works as intended," according to court documents obtained for the first time by The Hollywood Reporter.

Both parties have until October 3 to present the wording and a delivery method that is "feasible and meets the applicable legal standards".

In case of satisfaction, the court would then decide when the message should be sent to potentially affected customers, which could reach 11 million.

The ProPublica 2015 survey revealed that Vizio was recording viewing habits and selling this information to data brokers.

At the time, the company stated, "Non-personally identifiable information may be shared with certain partners … to enable these companies to make, for example, better informed decisions regarding the production of content, programming and programming. publicity.

The Federal Trade Commission, however, had a negative opinion. It set up $ 2.2 million with the company, on the understanding that this would stop the practice and, in the future, that users would be better informed about how the data was collected.

"This regulation stops unauthorized Vizio tracking and makes it clear that smart TV manufacturers must obtain the consent of individuals before collecting and sharing television news."

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