It’s pure madness we all have to speculate about ANY of this. Anyone in LG’s corporate line who approved this crap should be demoted for sheer stupidity. I don’t disagree there. But that’s the thing - it’s not just LG doing this. Nearly every “smart” TV manufacturer does it. I’ve been working hard to rid my house of this spy shit, but the TV went under the radar for a long time. This has given me a good motivation bump to keep at it, knowing that what I’m doing isn’t for nothing. And my wife is 100% onboard, which really helps.