UK watchdog probes smart TV manufacturers over data collection and consent

The ICO's investigation signals a shift toward enforcing 'privacy by design' as a mandatory standard for hardware manufacturers rather than an optional guideline. For the streaming ecosystem, this creates immediate friction for hardware-level Automatic Content Recognition (ACR) and the first-party data monetization strategies that fuel ad-supported tiers. If the UK mirrors the Texas settlement, manufacturers must move away from default background tracking toward explicit, granular opt-in flows. Watch for whether the ICO issues formal enforcement notices or fines to manufacturers like LG or TCL by the end of 2026, which would establish a new regulatory baseline for connected TV data across Europe.

The ICO investigation follows a period of heightened regulatory activity across both the UK and US. Per the Texas Attorney General’s office in December 2025, five major manufacturers were sued for turning televisions into 'mass surveillance systems' by capturing screen fingerprints as frequently as every 500 milliseconds. While Samsung settled in March 2026, promising to halt viewing data collection without express consent, legal proceedings against Sony, LG, and TCL continue. These manufacturers are accused of using 'dark patterns' that require more than 15 clicks to opt out of tracking, a practice that the ICO now characterizes as a failure of 'data protection by design' under UK GDPR.

In the UK, this probe aligns with the implementation of the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025. Per WSGR in February 2026, this legislation empowers the ICO to impose significantly higher penalties for non-compliance with tracking regulations, reaching up to 4% of a company’s global annual turnover. This is particularly relevant given that smart TVs are now present in 70% of UK households, according to Pinsent Masons in June 2026. As these devices solidify their role as primary gateways for both premium content and programmatic advertising, regulators are increasingly focused on the 'transparency gap' where hardware-level ACR data is auctioned to advertisers without clear user awareness.

Global market projections reflect why this data has become a regulatory flashpoint. Per Grand View Research in May 2026, the global smart TV market is expected to reach $270.82 billion this year, driven largely by the uptake of ad-supported FAST channels and the integration of AI-powered recommendation engines. The ICO’s move suggests that the era of 'surveillance-by-default' is ending in the UK, mirroring stricter European enforcement that has already forced manufacturers to ship sets with ACR disabled by default in several neighboring jurisdictions.