Earlier this month, YouTube channel Gamer’s Nexus shared a video detailing all the ways LG-produced smart TVs can spy on people. The video quickly spread online, even prompting LG to respond and deny the claims in GN’s well-researched report. Now one dude, not happy with LG trying to spy on him, has posted a video of himself removing his own TV’s wifi, mic, and Bluetooth antenna while calling out the tech giant’s shady behavior.
On September 6, popular YouTuber Gamer’s Nexus posted a detailed, thorough, and compelling video report about how LG TVs seemingly spy on people all the time. In the video, the YouTuber showed how many LG TVs secretly record conversations and store them, scan your home for other devices and wi-fi signals, and continue to do this even if you disconnect the device from the internet. It also included clips of LG execs and partners claiming they “own the glass” and not the customer. For many, it was an eye-opening report that showed just how bad privacy and security have gotten in most big tech devices. And for one guy, this video provided a compelling motivation to rip all that shit out of his new LG TV and post a video detailing the process.
Over the weekend, small YouTuber tfm55x, who hasn’t uploaded a video in four years, posted a new video titled “This LG G6 OLED Glass Belongs to Me! It’s not spying on me anymore.” And the video rocks.
In the short video, tfm55x not only details how he removed the wi-fi and mic from his recently purchased TV, but also calls out LG for spying on people, labeling them as “dirty rotten scoundrels.” He explains that he was planning to put the TV on a private, virtual network so he could control how it interacts with the internet, but as seen in the GN video, that likely wouldn’t be enough to stop it from spying. So he decided to carefully open the TV up and rip out all the shit it needs to spy on people manually.
“Apparently, the little scoundrels at LG are telling customers that they own the screen or they own the glass,” said the creator. “Well, you don’t own the glass on this one. And this is my official non-acceptance of the terms of your agreements that amount to, I don’t even know, how many reams of paper when printed out. I do not accept any of those. I flatly refuse to pay that much money for a television and then have you snooping on everything I’m doing. It’s none of your damn business.”
Fuck yeah, dude. The comments are also filled with people cheering on tfm55x for ripping out that spy shit from his new TV and for telling LG off. The top comment on the video, with over 2,000 upvotes, is: “Best ‘I do not accept’ I’ve ever seen.”
And if you’re curious whether the TV was damaged in the process, on Thursday, tfm55x posted a follow-up video showing that his new TV works perfectly fine. It’s just not spying on him and sharing his data anymore.
