Posted on 08/26/2021 12:23:11 AM PDT by LibWhacker
When it comes to so-called smart gadgets, owning just isn't what it used to be.
Samsung made that clear earlier this month when it told customers that it can, at any time, remotely disable any and every Samsung TV connected to the internet. The Aug. 6 announcement came in response to the theft of an unspecified number of TVs in South Africa in July, and was likely the first time many customers had ever heard of Samsung's TV Block Function.
The feature allows Samsung to remotely check if "TV units have been unduly activated," and "is already pre-loaded on all Samsung TV products." Apparently "looted" TVs fall into the category of undue activation.
If TV Block gets a hit on an internet-connected Samsung TV's serial number that it decides shouldn't be up and running, then Samsung can remotely disable that television. Notably, an internet connection — and the customer surveillance that entails — is a core part of modern smart TVs.
We reached out to Samsung to determine how many TVs it has remotely disabled with TV Block, but received no immediate response.
The company seems proud of itself, however, and made an effort to share its previously little-known ability on Twitter. The responses were less than enthusiastic.
"You can remotely brick my TV? Will definitely not buy Samsung again, and will keep my current TV offline too," read one such reply.
"Not buying a Samsung TV," read another. "Thanks for the heads up!"
According to the August 6 statement, "The aim of the technology is to mitigate against the creation of secondary markets linked to the sale of illegal goods, both in South Africa and beyond its borders."
We asked Samsung about concerns from paying customers on social media regarding TV Block, specifically the possibility that the company might remotely disable a customer's television by mistake. Again, we received no immediate response.
Samsung does however partially address this scenario in a statement, but its solution sounds like quite the pain.
"Should a customer's TV be incorrectly blocked, the functionality can be reinstated once proof of purchase and a valid TV license is shared with a legitimate retailer."
The statement makes no mention of any sort of compensation for customers who have to go through this ordeal.
Samsung's boast — that it can reach into its customers' home and, should it so choose, claw back what they've purchased — will sound familiar to anyone following trends in the world of "smart" gadgets.
SEE ALSO: How To Make Your Smart TV A Little Dumb (And Why You Should)
Samsung's ability to remotely disable all of its customers' TVs is only one facet of the ongoing debate around company control over internet-of-things gadgets. Another (and it's one that Sonos customers will likely recognize) is that company after company has made the decision to end support for old smart gadgets that are no longer profitable, rendering legitimately purchased and functioning items unusable.
Because these days, buying an internet-connected smart appliance doesn't make it yours. It just means you have until the manufacturer changes its mind.
Why not add a small button of C4 explosive to each unit and have it go out with a bang?
Huh. Great counter to all those TV’s heisted in BLM riots.
Love ta see Samsung brick every f’n one of ‘em & let the dindunuffins bark at the f’n moon.
Wonder if your TV got stolen if you could ring up Samsung and have ‘em brick it.
And before your Samsung tv is stolen, Samsung can listen to every conversation in your home, and track all of your activity. Samsung’s tracking is not limited to stolen appliances.
Now the TV watches you. 👀
If Samsung can do this to a TV why in the hell can’t we do this to ALL of the equipment Biden left to the Taliban in Afghanistan???
It’s so f’n cool! I can’t wait till they shut off all the TVs of the unvaccinated next. Serves ‘em right.
“You can remotely brick my TV? Will definitely not buy Samsung again, and will keep my current TV offline too,” read one such reply.”
Some comments:
1. If Samsung can remotely brick your TV, that means the government can do the same to your TV. If that doesn’t make sense to you, then you’re simply a mindless libertarian who doesn’t understand how big business and government work directly together (but you might better ‘get it’ when your ‘private’ company and all other employment options force you to vax).
2. If you think running away from Samsung to a different company will change things - sorry, if one is doing it, so are the rest, with the only difference being how much they brag about it.
3. Another example is the Jan 6th protesters. Does one really think that if Verizon is sharing location data of their customers with government, but without demanding a warrant, that T-Mobile, AT&T, and Apple aren’t doing the same? Seriously? I hear comments like “Well, that’s it, I’m not using Verizon”.
4. Don’t be surprised if that ‘bricking’ feature involves connecting to the Internet independently of your server, such as through cell phone towers. That’s certainly how I’d design it.
This might not be a bad system, to deal with thieves. I do, however, think it would be open to abuse. I could just see some government dirt bag, saying, brick em all. To me, that would be a typical government response, against political opponents, who don’t agree with their woke politics.
“Samsung’s ability to remotely disable all of its customers’ TVs is only one facet of the ongoing debate around company control over internet-of-things gadgets.”
Anyone with a ‘smart’ thermostat will soon find out that they only have control of their home’s temperature as long as the government permits that - and in Texas, people already starting getting a taste of that in the June heat wave.
Unfortunately, yes.
Sounds like a good Yakov Smirnoff joke. 😀
What happened to those “smart TVs” from about a decade (or so) ago that had hidden cameras in the center of the screen?
(weren’t those also Samsung?)
I keep mine taped down.
Might could do it to some of the electronics, but that’s not what the Tallywhackers really want.
What they REALLY want are the arms and ammo, and — doggone it — ya can’t “brick” a grenade launcher over the internet.
“Samsung can listen to every conversation in your home...”
Right ‘cuz my TV follows me from room to room with it’s microphone in my face like some prole from CNN.
Oh. Wait. The build spec for my TV doesn’t include a microphone, legs, or a Press Credential.
I’M SAVED!!
And they could DO it, TOO!
The Rosicrucians left a prophetic scroll that only Lizard People can interpret — kinda like how Joe Smith got the Book of Mormon with his face shoved into a hat full of stones...
Anyhow, the scroll lists every mRNA refusenik on Earth in alphabetical order, and it’s in a 150 year old vault that was dug as emergency shelter for the President in the wake of Lincoln’s assassination directly below the Oval Office of the White House, and can only be accessed by a 33rd Degree Freemason wearing Sonja Henie’s tutu and Michael Jackson’s other glove.
I’d tell ya more, but the rest is just crazy; you’d never believe it.
Correction:
Now the Telescreen watches you.
We’re watching you Winston!
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