Jun 30, 2019 - Economy & Business

Privacy concerns grow with Smart TVs

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Adapted from a chart by Comscore OTT Intelligence, March 2019; Chart: Axios Visuals

Of all the hardware options consumers can use to access over-the-top television, Smart TVs are experiencing the highest level of growth, according to Comscore's latest State of OTT presentation.

Why it matters: Smart TVs face the same data privacy vulnerabilities as other internet-connected devices.

  • A tweet from Samsung last week (which was later removed) asked users to regularly scan Samsung Smart TVs for viruses. It wasn't the first time Smart TVs were the subject of privacy scares. The FTC fined Vizio in 2017 for collecting viewing data on 11 million TVs without users' knowledge.

The big picture: As Smart TVs become cheaper to produce, manufacturers are replacing standard TVs with ones that are internet-connected, similar to how standard mobile phone usage quickly pivoted to smart phone usage beginning about 11 years ago.

Go deeper: Smart TVs are watching us now

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Rebecca Falconer
Updated 2 hours ago - World

Pandemic plunges U.K. into "largest recession on record"

The scene near the Royal Exchange and the Bank of England in the City of London, England. Photo: Tolga Akmen/AFP via Getty Images

The United Kingdom slumped into recession as its gross domestic product GDP shrank 20.4% compared with the first three months of the year, the Office of National Statistics (ONS) confirmed Wednesday.

Why it matters: Per an ONS statement, "It is clear that the U.K. is in the largest recession on record." The U.K. has faired worse than any other major European economy from coronavirus lockdowns, Bloomberg notes. And finance minister Rishi Sunak warns the situation is likely to worsen.

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Axios
Updated 2 hours ago - Health

World coronavirus updates

Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins; Map: Axios Visuals

The United Kingdom slumped into recession on Wednesday, as its gross domestic product GDP shrank 20.4% compared with the first three months of the year.

By the numbers: Over 741,400 people have died of the novel coronavirus globally and more than 20.2 million have tested positive, per Johns Hopkins. Almost 12.6 million have recovered from the virus.

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Axios
Updated 3 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 3 a.m. ET: 20,294,091 — Total deaths: 741,420— Total recoveries: 12,591,454 — Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 3 a.m. ET: 5,141,207 — Total deaths: 164,537 — Total recoveries: 1,714,960 — Total tests: 63,252,257 — Map.
  3. States: Georgia reports 137 coronavirus deaths, setting new daily record — Florida reports another daily record for deaths.
  4. Health care: Trump administration buys 100 million doses of Moderna's coronavirus vaccine.
  5. Business: Moderna reveals it may not hold patent rights for vaccine.
  6. Sports: Big Ten scraps fall football season.
  7. World: Anthony Fauci "seriously" doubts Russia's coronavirus vaccine is safe
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