Last month, Shane Harris of the Daily Beast published in article entitled, “Your Samsung Smart TV Is Spying on You, Basically,” in which he took a line from Samsung’s privacy policy which said,

“Please be aware that if your spoken words include personal or other sensitive information, that information will be among the data captured and transmitted to a third party.”[1]

Harris concluded,

“So be advised: If you’re too lazy to pick up the remote, you may want to keep your conversation with the TV as direct and non-incriminating as possible. Don’t talk about tax evasion, drug use. And definitely don’t try out your Violet Crawley impression.

“This isn’t the first time Samsung’s too-clever-by-half TV has set off alarms among privacy experts. Writing in Salon in November 2014, Michael Price, counsel in the Liberty and National Security Program at the Brennan Center for Justice at the NYU School of Law, said the details in his new smart TV’s lengthy privacy policy made him ‘afraid to use it.’”[2]

Harris’ article went viral, and that seemed to force Samsung to forge a response, which read in part:

“Samsung takes consumer privacy very seriously and our products are designed with privacy in mind. We employ industry-standard security safeguards and practices, including data encryption, to secure consumers’ personal information and prevent unauthorized collection or use.”[3]







Samsung also explained in a devious way that the “third party” is safe. But Samsung, which is “the world’s largest information-technology firm,”[4] could not reveal that the company itself “gets NSA approval on some of its devices.” As the Wall Street Journal itself acknowledged:

“Samsung Electronics Co. said…the U.S. National Security Agency approved a number of its mobile devices for use by government officials to carry classified information, a positive step for the smart-phone maker’s struggling mobile division.”[5]

We also know that South Korea, the U.S., and Japan have all agreed to “sign intelligence pact,”[6] which is another way of saying that intelligence agencies in the U.S.—which included the Israeli-run NSA—can have access to South Korea’s technological devices. Even the Washington Post, which agreed with Samsung’s explanation, had this to say:

“Still, it would be good to get a clear answer on which companies control data pulled from Samsung televisions, and how. Samsung did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Nuance declined to comment.”[7]

So, Samsung is basically sold out to the NSA:

“The development comes as Samsung continues to work slowly but persistently to boost its appeal in the enterprise market by clearing the technological hurdles to ready Galaxy devices for corporate and government customers with high-security needs.

“The company has long believed that winning certifications from top security authorities will help persuade corporate clients to switch to Samsung phones from those made by rivals like BlackBerry Ltd…

“Samsung said the NSA approved the Galaxy S5, Galaxy S4, Galaxy Note 4, Galaxy Note 3 smartphones and the Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet, among others, for use.

“In June, Samsung said five of its Knox-installed Galaxy smartphones and tablets received approval from the U.S. Defense Information Systems Agency. The approval added the devices to a list of options for officials. The Galaxy S4 and Galaxy Note 3 smart-phones are also on this list.”[8]

Talking heads in the company would be pretty dumb to say that they are not aware of the NSA’s black operations and wicked activities over the years.[9] It would be irresponsible of them to say that they have no idea of who Edward Snowden is. Therefore, we can safely say that they know what they are doing.

More recently, documents provided by Edward Snowden said that

“AMERICAN AND BRITISH spies hacked into the internal computer network of the largest manufacturer of SIM cards in the world, stealing encryption keys used to protect the privacy of cell-phone communications across the globe…

“The hack was perpetrated by a joint unit consisting of operatives from the NSA and its British counterpart Government Communications Headquarters, or GCHQ.

“The breach, detailed in a secret 2010 GCHQ document, gave the surveillance agencies the potential to secretly monitor a large portion of the world’s cellular communications, including both voice and data.

“With these stolen encryption keys, intelligence agencies can monitor mobile communications without seeking or receiving approval from telecom companies and foreign governments.

“Possessing the keys also sidesteps the need to get a warrant or a wiretap, while leaving no trace on the wireless provider’s network that the communications were intercepted.

“Bulk key theft additionally enables the intelligence agencies to unlock any previously encrypted communications they had already intercepted, but did not yet have the ability to decrypt…

“Leading privacy advocates and security experts say that the theft of encryption keys from major wireless network providers is tantamount to a thief obtaining the master ring of a building superintendent who holds the keys to every apartment.”[10]

A Snowden document also said that Israel has “one of the most aggressive surveillance services acting against the United States.”[11] We also know that

“Despite the close relationship between American and Israeli intelligence agencies, the extensive information provided to Israel by the United States produced little in return.”[12]

These issues have even made Google officials worried, for they realized that the U.S. is moving to a territory where the government would be able to hack “any facility” in the entire world.[13] Yet despite all of that, presidential contender Jeb Bush has come out and said that NSA spying is “hugely important.”[14]

So, what should we do with companies that ally with the NSA? Well, let them know that you are unsatisfied with their actions. Let other people know what they are doing and stop buying their products, particularly if they are unwilling to change or if they are constantly trying to prostate before the regime in Washington and Tel Aviv. Why should you buy a TV from Samsung when they are going to use your own money to spy on you? Doesn’t that mean that you are paying them to listen to your conversation? Didn’t you work hard for your money?

Some people do not possess a TV screen. Many don’t even have a regular cell phone. The challenge would be this: if you plan to support Samsung by buying their products or any other company that pledges to give its full support to the Zionist regime, just count the cost. You may want to ask yourself the following questions.

If I buy this or that device, will it be productive? What useful information will I gain from it? Will I use the information for the benefit of others or will it be for my own unbridled passion and lust? Am I being conned into buying things that I really don’t need? Are there other and better alternatives out there?

With the age of advertisement, people are being duped left and right. As the Chinese philosopher Mencius rightly put it,

“To act without understanding, and to do so habitually without examination, pursuing the proper path all the life without knowing its nature—this is the behavior of multitudes.”

I personally have an Amazon Kindle and I think it is one of the best devices ever invented for avid readers. I used to carry too many books with me when traveling but now I do not have to anymore. The burden has been lifted. Overall, it’s been worth it.

In short, count the cost, try not to follow the latest trend for no reason, and use your time and money wisely.

[1] Shane Harris, “Your Samsung Smart TV Is Spying on You, Basically,” Daily Beast, February 5, 2015.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Quoted in Hayley Tsukayama, “Samsung: Our televisions aren’t secretly eavesdropping on you,” Washington Post, February 10, 2015.

[4] “The Path Through the Fields,” The Economist, November 3, 2012.

[5] Min-Jeong Lee, “Samsung Gets NSA Approval on Some of Its Devices,” Wall Street Journal, October 21, 2014.

[6] Julian E. Barnes, “South Korea, U.S., Japan to Sign Intelligence Pact,” Wall Street Journal, December 26, 2014.

[7] Hayley Tsukayama, “Samsung: Our televisions aren’t secretly eavesdropping on you,” Washington Post, February 10, 2015.

[8] Min-Jeong Lee, “Samsung Gets NSA Approval on Some of Its Devices,” Wall Street Journal, October 21, 2014.

[9] See for example Glenn Greenwald, No Place to Hide: Edward Snowden, the NSA, and the U.S. Surveillance State (New York: Metropolitan Books, 2014).

[10] Jeremy Scahill and Josh Begley, “The Great Sim Heist: How Spies Stole the Keys to the Encryption Castle,” The Intercept, February 19, 2015.

[11] Greenwald, No Place to Hide, 125.

[12] Ibid., 126.

[13] Ed, Pilkington, “Google warns of US government ‘hacking any facility’ in the world,” Guardian, February 18, 2015.

[14] Damian Paletta, “Jeb Bush: NSA Bulk Telephone Records Collection ‘Hugely Important,’” Wall Street Journal, February 18, 2015.

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Jonas E. Alexis has degrees in mathematics and philosophy. He studied education at the graduate level. His main interests include U.S. foreign policy, history of Israel/Palestine conflict, and the history of ideas. He is the author of the new book Zionism vs. the West: How Talmudic Ideology is Undermining Western Culture. He teaches mathematics in South Korea. Jonas E. Alexis has degrees in mathematics and philosophy. He studied education at the graduate level. His main interests include U.S. foreign policy, history of Israel/Palestine conflict, and the history of ideas. He is the author of the new book Zionism vs. the West: How Talmudic Ideology is Undermining Western Culture. He teaches mathematics in South Korea.