cross-posted from: https://programming.dev/post/37646129

Source: Reddit post— Private front-end.

Samsung Statement to Android Authority:

Samsung is committed to innovation and enhancing every day value for our home appliance customers. As part of our ongoing efforts to strengthen that value, we are conducting a pilot program to offer promotions and curated advertisements on certain Samsung Family Hub refrigerator models in the U.S. market.

As a part of this pilot program, Family Hub refrigerators in the U.S. will receive an over-the-network (OTN) software update with Terms of Service (T&C) and Privacy Notice (PN). Advertising will appear on certain Family Hub refrigerator Cover Screens. The Cover Screen appears when a Family Hub screen is idle. Ad design format may change depending on Family Hub personalization options for the Cover Screen, and advertising will not appear when Cover Screen displays Art Mode or picture albums.

Advertisements can be dismissed on the Cover Screens where ads are shown, meaning that specific ads will not appear again during the campaign period.

    • Echo Dot@feddit.ukEnglish
      1·
      12 hours ago

      Fortunately only the stupid people are affected by this. Everyone else can just laugh at them.

      • groet@feddit.orgEnglish
        51·
        7 hours ago

        No. Because if enough people buy the shit product, it will become the only product available. And then you can choose between an ad-fridge or no fridge at all.

        • Echo Dot@feddit.ukEnglish
          1·
          3 hours ago

          As of right now you can still buy normal fridges and if they want to integrate screens into them I can always just refuse to connect them to the internet.

          Outside of the US there are consumer laws that will prevent them from doing anything too bad. But yeah you lot of seriously screwed, you might want to reply to Swedish citizenship or something.

        • korazail@lemmy.myserv.oneEnglish
          2·
          4 hours ago

          This is my fear. It’s still possible, barely, to buy a dumb TV. When my current fridge/dishwasher/stove/etc dies in a few years, will there even be a dumb version? Will it cost 5x the price of a spyware version? How about my thermostat. HVAC? Car? And will attempting to disable any of this spyware land me in prison?

          Right now, uninformed/unaware/stupid people are affected by this. Pretty soon, everyone will be, or they will have to forego things we consider to be necessities now, like refrigeration and cell phones or be rich enough to buy the privacy-focused models.

          I can’t immediately find it, but I just saw another post about a new privacy-focused cellphone with a huge price tag. The established manufacturers have a cost advantage. Samsung et al. can easily make a new fridge with fewer consumer rights, but a new company will have to spend tons of capital to make a factory to put out a comparable product; and they won’t have the advantage of selling your data to subsidize the price.

          Privacy is and will become more-so a commodity unless we fight for it.