“Get a Free 4K TV for Your Privacy: Is This Company’s Offer Worth the Ethical Dilemma?”

News JVTech “Free”: This Company Gives You Premium 4K TV for Your Privacy and Peace

Free 4K TV and premium soundbar…really?

Telly is a company run by Ilya Pozin, co-founder of Pluto TV. Soon, it intends to invade the market with its rather high-end 55-inch 4K TV (“real” value of around €1,000). How ? By distributing it for free. Of course, there is a “but”.

This television is not like the others since it is composed of 2 screens and a sound bar. Everything is delivered in one block, it is impossible to detach the different elements. The first screen is 55 inches, or 139 centimeters diagonally, a standard format for a modern 4K TV. The second is a display panel that isn’t very tall, but still spans the width of the TV. The two screens are connected by the soundbar.

Le twist ? The billboard under the TV is going to broadcast… targeted advertising. All the time (at least, every time the TV is on). Games, movies, series, whatever happens on the main screen, the secondary screen will be active. The latter can also display some widgets such as the weather or sports results for example, and polls. Let’s look at these for a moment.. If you answer these surveys that allow brands to collect data, you can be rewarded with vouchers.

Wait, that’s not all. At the level of the sound bar, there is a microphone and a camera. The content you consume, your presence in front of the screen, the way you watch TV… all this data will be analyzed. What to refine the targeting of advertisements to encourage you to consume more wisely, and, potentially, to sell the information against a nice nest egg.

The Telly television set will hit American soil this summer. No release planned in Europe for the moment. Production is limited to 500,000 copies, which is relatively important: we must not forget that this is a small brand, not Samsung.

Why does this announcement make people react? The ethical issues raised by Telly and its free 4K TVs

We came across this information on the morning of May 16, when all the press was sharing the news. We suspected it: the news made a lot of talk. We therefore took some time to listen to the most recurring critical arguments and share them.

First, there is a great deal of criticism related to the mass surveillance and the right to privacy. The pervasive surveillance of users for advertising purposes can often be seen as an intrusion into the personal sphere of individuals. Not sure that a free television is an advantage that compensates for this potential harm.

Ensuitethe question of informed consent arises. One of the major concerns in this situation is whether users are fully aware of the use of their private data and the implications of targeted advertising. Informed consent is an important ethical principle in the field of data protection, and it is crucial that users understand the terms of the proposed exchange. If, a priori, people agree to buy a TV with advertising, are they well aware of all the implications that this may have? Insidious manipulation, sale of information, filing… some people do not hesitate to say big words.

Finally, advertising is very regularly perceived as a harmful gene, quite simply. In our ultra-connected societies, advertising invades our daily lives. Our sofa often represents a small island of peace, finally cut off from advertising attacks. For many people, seeing ads during a Netflix series is embarrassing, and we understand that.