This is exactly why I'm asking -- that story seems like it easily be made up or just plain mistaken. Maybe they've got a family member who tried to connect it to watch something without them knowing.
I've seen random anecdotes like this, but I've never seen anyone actually prove it. E.g. someone with a tech background or a journalist.
And since it would be so trivially easy to actually prove if true, and seemingly a major news story, it feels more plausible to me that it's false.
Yeah this could easily be someone with a kid who was annoyed that some app on the TV didn't work and so clicked on the first available network that worked, or the issue reporter could have clicked on that network by mistake, etc.
On the other hand, I've seen this story about 100 times online at this point and it's absolutely cost Samsung a ton of sales. How hard would it be for them to put out a firm denial that they do this?
It's a good question. But as a general rule, companies don't really bother responding to unfounded rumors until they get to the point where there's an article published about it in the New York Times, or it shows up in the first page of search results.
And I doubt there's really been any measurable effect on sales. The proportion of people who care are miniscule, and they'd likely not be buying Samsung even if they put out a statement.
