Gamers Nexus has fired back at LG Electronics with a 47-minute rebuttal that includes fresh packet captures showing an LG TV sending street-level location data to LG Ad Solutions while connected only over HDMI. The new video, published September 12, 2026, answers LG’s earlier statement that the original investigation was “not true.”
What the new evidence shows
Security researcher uturn placed a man-in-the-middle interception in his own TV’s network path and captured what it sent to Alphonso, LG’s advertising service. The payload included a device identifier, city, state, latitude and longitude, nearest major road, zip code, and time zone. The TV was on HDMI input—not watching broadcast or streaming content—yet it fingerprinted audio crossing the HDMI channel and transmitted 20 packets per minute containing device ID, timestamps, audio fingerprint payloads, and location data.
The mechanism ties together audio fingerprinting, HDMI device identifiers from SPD and CEC, and Wi-Fi BSSID signal strength. Because BSSIDs are widely indexed, the TV can resolve to a physical address. Gamers Nexus stresses this uses unmodified, non-rooted, no-exploit native TV functionality.
Why CTV marketers should pay attention
For performance marketers, connected TV has been sold as a deterministic channel: household-level targeting, offline conversion measurement, and no more click-through rates. LG Ad Solutions executives have said “We own the glass,” and the company’s healthcare DSP partner DeepIntent describes mapping TV exposure to actual prescription fills. That kind of measurement depends on knowing what’s on the screen and where the screen is.
The LG findings show that even a TV used purely as a monitor can contribute location and audio fingerprint data. That granularity is a marketer’s dream but a privacy nightmare if consent wasn’t truly given.
Consent flaws and dark patterns
Attorney Vincent Agosta, paid to read LG’s full agreements, says LG retains the right to observe, record, use and sell screen data. The consent flows shown in the video include six agreements when only two are needed, select-all pre-highlighted, a “do not sell” toggle off by default and buried in menus, and a cookies toggle that actually increases advertising cookies when switched off. LG’s response also changed its wording from “store” ambient conversations to “transmit,” and added a conditional clause about voice activation.
Key takeaways for your team:
- CTV location data can be street-level, not just DMA or ZIP.
- Opt-in language often hides data collection behind default pre-selected options.
- Ad platforms may measure offline conversions, but ask how they know a prescription was filled.
- Treat every smart screen as a potential data source unless contractually proven otherwise.
What to do now
Audit your CTV vendors. Ask where location data comes from, whether users explicitly opted in, and how the vendor handles consent withdrawal. For brands running healthcare or location-sensitive campaigns, double-check that deterministic claims come with compliant data collection. Use Agosta’s “bundle of sticks” analogy: ownership of data rights can be split, so clarify which sticks you actually hold before you build a campaign on them.
Source: PPC Land
