New Delhi, Dec. 17 -- Texas has reopened a fight that never really went away. It is about what your smart TV is allowed to collect about you inside your own home. Attorney General Ken Paxton filed lawsuits against Samsung, LG, Sony, Hisense, and TCL this week, accusing the companies of unlawfully collecting viewer data through automated content recognition, or ACR, without proper consent.

ACR is the part of the smart TV stack most people never hear about until a headline like this lands. In plain terms, it is technology that helps a TV recognise what is on screen. Companies and ad partners pitch it as a way to improve recommendations, understand what content is working, and serve more relevant ads. Paxton's filings argue it crosses the l...