• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, March 8, 2017

Now the CIA knows exactly how I feel about the TV advertising business, the state of the health-care system in the U.S., and possible performance-enhancing issues around professional road cycling.

A report from WikiLeaks suggests the CIA can tap into Samsung Smart TVs. How is this done? In certain “off” modes, “the TV operates as a bug, recording conversations in the room and sending them over the Internet to a covert CIA server,” says a WikiLeak press release.

Now, anything from WikiLeaks should be called into question -- especially in this new wild digital world.  (WikiLeaks, for example, seemingly didn’t have CIA tracking Russian TV viewers? Why only those in the U.S. or abroad? Many in the intelligence community believe WikiLeaks is part of the Kremlin's efforts to destabilize the U.S. government.)

That said, two years ago, Samsung did warn users about privacy issues in owning a smart TV with built-in microphones for those remote that work with voice recognition.

TV manufacturers had long hoped new Internet-connected TVs would not only give consumers more entertainment options and accessibility but -- in hopefully anonymous ways -- glean data from TV viewing which would yield value to TV networks, TV marketers, third-party data researchers and other companies.

But the rub comes over privacy issues. The CIA, if stuff is to be believed, has hacking tools to enact those TV remote microphones -- and perhaps the camera affixed in the screens -- to see even more.

Leaving out the more nefarious issues the CIA might focus on that we consider private consumer information. That said, I’m not oppose to sharing. But there will be a cost to pay -- especially if you are a marketer trying to determine the most granular of audience metrics.

Now some of this makes sense. Smart TVs are Internet-connected TVs. Focus on the word ‘Internet.’ We all know what that means: Any and all attempts to hack, change, illegal gain information on consumers and their behavior.

Look at existing consumer information issues in this regards: For a long time now, tons of purchasing data has been taken from credit-card purchases via retailers.

You want my attention? You want deeper insights into my purchase history, my behavior? It’ll cost you. First -- in a move of good faith -- send over a NYC pizza that I use to get when I was young.

Where do I live, you say? What do I like on that pizza? You already know.