A man from Indiana is suing the manufacturer of his smart TV set over claims that the television is ‘secretly spying’ on him and passing confidential information onto third parties. Tent Strader has filed a 27-page lawsuit in Indianapolis where he accuses the Vizio smart television set as monitoring his viewing habits without his permission – collecting data illegally such as websites he has visited and products he has purchased online through the web-enabled TV. Dailymail.co.uk reports: According to court documents the televisions collect personal information through their ‘Smart Interactivity’ software before passing it on to ‘advertisers and data brokers’. It is claimed that the software, which is ‘activated by default’ has been installed on more than 10 million televisions sold in the United States over recent years. ‘The third parties that obtain the personally identifying data are then able to push targeted ads to electronic devices that share the same Internet network connection as a Vizio “smart” television’. More than 100 people have joined the class action and are seeking in excess of $5,000,000 – excluding interest and costs. Strader accuses Vizio of hiding details of the ‘tracking software’ installed on its televisions. The company has generated approximately $3 [...]