Comment on Here’s what ads on your $2,000 Samsung smart fridge will look like
TehPers@beehaw.org 2 days agoWhat they’re doing should be outright illegal in most countries; it’s equivalent to changing a contract unilaterally after both parties signed it.
Update to [COMPANY NAME]'s Policies
Yes, this should be illegal, but it’s already common practice. I’m just hoping that enough of this will eventually get people to stop buying these products, and hopefully we can start seeing some real legislation against it in some countries.
Additionally, I’d strongly advise against buying any sort of “smart” device, unless you’re pretty sure the benefits of connecting your toaster to the internet outweighs all the risks.
This should be obvious at this point. “Smart” just means “internet-connected”, and we already know what happens to every device that connects to a remote server during regular operation: telemetry (and not the nice debugging kind but the “what do you use” kind), and advertisements.
Including corporations and crackers
The “crackers” part of this confuses me. Samsung is a Korean company. The chairman’s name is Lee Jae-yong (이재용). Samsung NA’s CEO is Yoonie Joung. Maybe I’m misreading this?
lvxferre@mander.xyz 2 days ago
Problem is, people won’t stop buying them. Often “smart” products are sold comparatively cheaper, because the business expects additional profits through ads; and if Samsung is going this way (ads on your fridge), it’ll do it.
By “crackers” I mean “black hat hackers”. The sort of people who’d love to drop some ransomware into your fridge and then say “if you don’t want me to brick your fridge, pay me a few bucks”.
(After some websearch, apparently Americans use it as a derogatory term. I wasn’t aware of that.)
TehPers@beehaw.org 2 days ago
Ok I just misread it then, sorry!
lvxferre@mander.xyz 1 day ago
No problem - miscommunication happens.