Tag: Tech Companies Helping ICE

LG monitors are silently installing spyware on Windows 11 PCs without user consent Read more: https://www.tweaktown.com/news/112705/lg-monitors-are-silently-installing-spyware-on-windows-11-pcs-without-user-consent/index.html

What is it with all the spying and data collection against the people? I just think it has to do with gaining more profit and power over people.  I just don’t understand the need to know everyone’s information.  There are some things about people that others don’t need to know. Privacy is needed for a polite society.    Hugs   

https://www.tweaktown.com/news/112705/lg-monitors-are-silently-installing-spyware-on-windows-11-pcs-without-user-consent/index.html

LG gaming monitors are silently installing software onto freshly installed Windows 11 machines without any user consent or authorization.

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Jak Connor
Tech and Science Editor

Published Jul 20, 2026 8:18 AM CDT
1 minute & 30 seconds read time

Read more: https://www.tweaktown.com/news/112705/lg-monitors-are-silently-installing-spyware-on-windows-11-pcs-without-user-consent/index.html

TL;DR: Connecting certain LG UltraGear monitors to Windows 11 PCs triggers silent installation of software via Windows Update that promotes McAfee and includes adware-like components and broad permissions (geolocation, online activity, contacts). GamersNexus and user reports confirmed automatic, unauthorized installs, prompting privacy concerns and calls for LG to explain or remove the behavior.

Read more: https://www.tweaktown.com/news/112705/lg-monitors-are-silently-installing-spyware-on-windows-11-pcs-without-user-consent/index.html

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LG monitors are silently installing spyware on Windows 11 PCs without user consent
LG gaming monitors are silently installing software onto freshly installed Windows 11 machines without any user consent or authorization.

Read more: https://www.tweaktown.com/news/112705/lg-monitors-are-silently-installing-spyware-on-windows-11-pcs-without-user-consent/index.html

According to GamersNexus, connecting an LG UltraGear 34GX900A-B monitor to a Windows PC will automatically install software that promotes McAfee antivirus subscriptions, all without any prompt or user approval. Essentially, plugging any Windows 11 PC into this LG monitor automatically installs what is commonly considered adware, software that is dedicated to displaying an advertisement for additional software.

GamersNexus replicated what many LG monitors were complaining about on Reddit, confirming that the monitor triggers an automatic software install that occurs silently during the monitor setup process, all without any user approval. This includes not only promotional material for McAfee but also additional adware-like elements, along with the approval of suspicious permissions such as granting access to “All system resources” and geolocation, online activity, and contact data.

Read more: Microsoft confirms LG has responded to its monitors silently installing spyware on Windows 11 PCs

Read more: https://www.tweaktown.com/news/112705/lg-monitors-are-silently-installing-spyware-on-windows-11-pcs-without-user-consent/index.html

 

A user report showcased a screenshot of McAfee ads appearing on their PC despite never installing the program or authorizing the ads, highlighting the invasive nature of the product. The issue has drawn attention from tech communities, and rightfully so, as users are now questioning if other monitor companies are also guilty or complicit in such practices.

If LG does not address this behavior, it risks damaging its reputation among gamers who aren’t very quick to forget about the predatory behavior of tech companies. This is especially true among those gamers or consumers who really value transparency and control over their systems. For me, until this is removed, or LG puts out a statement explaining why it’s there in the first place, all future LG UltraGear gaming monitor reviews will come with a warning for spyware, or LG’s Monitor App installer.

 

Read more: https://www.tweaktown.com/news/112705/lg-monitors-are-silently-installing-spyware-on-windows-11-pcs-without-user-consent/index.html

 

 

 

Reddit, Meta, and Google Voluntarily Gave DHS Info of Anti-ICE Users, Report Says

https://gizmodo.com/reddit-meta-and-google-voluntarily-gave-dhs-info-of-anti-ice-users-report-says-2000722279

DHS is expanding its use of administrative subpoenas, which don’t come from judges.
By 
A U.S. Department Of Homeland Security and U.S. Customs and Border Protection sign is displayed at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Headquarters on May 18, 2025 in Washington, DC.

Reddit, Meta, and Google voluntarily “complied with some of the requests” for identifying details of users critical of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) sent as part of a recent wave of administrative subpoenas the Department of Homeland Security has been distributing to Big Tech the past few months, according to an anonymously sourced New York Times report.

Those three companies, plus Discord, have received “hundreds” of such requests that have come from DHS recently. Meta, it should be noted, is the parent company of Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp.

Administrative subpoenas used for this purpose represent an escalation. This tool, which comes not from a judge but from DHS itself, was formerly reserved for situations like child abductions, according to the Times.

The users were targeted because their posts “criticized ICE or pointed to the locations of ICE agents,” the Times says.

A Google spokesperson replied to the Times with a statement, saying “When we receive a subpoena, our review process is designed to protect user privacy while meeting our legal obligations,” and “We inform users when their accounts have been subpoenaed, unless under legal order not to or in an exceptional circumstance. We review every legal demand and push back against those that are overbroad.”

Gizmodo requested comment from Meta, Discord, and Reddit. We will update if we hear back.

According to the Times, one or multiple of the relevant companies have stated that they notify users of these requests from DHS, and give them a 14-day window to “fight the subpoena in court” before complying.

Amazon has also been accused of at least some degree of participation with ICE’s ongoing mass deportation efforts. In October, Amazon-owned Ring announced a partnership with Flock that would loop the AI-powered network into the content coming from users’ doorbell cameras. According to a 404 Media investigation, that network feeds information to law enforcement agencies at the local and federal levels, allowing for reasonable concern that ICE has access to all that footage.

Protesters have launched an effort called “Resist and Unsubscribe” targeting ten tech companies they perceive as exceptionally supportive of ICE. That list includes Meta, Google, and Amazon, but not Reddit.