Samsung Class Action Demands YouTube Access on Smart TVs

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Samsung needs to compensate owners of older Samsung Smart TVs that have lost access to the YouTube app, according to a California plaintiff.

Plaintiff Lance Baird says Samsung Smart TVs from 2013 and earlier lost their access to YouTube in June 2017.

Purchasers of these Smart TVs were given no notice that they would ever lose access to YouTube, he claims. He is seeking to compel Samsung to take steps that would restore YouTube access for owners of older Samsung Smart TVs.

According to Baird, Samsung began marketing Smart TVs around 2010. The company promoted these Smart TVs as being able to directly access streaming services like Netflix, Hulu and YouTube. Each service could be streamed through its own app, all of which are included in Samsung’s SmartHub platform.

Marketing for Samsung Smart TVs included the logos for YouTube and other streaming services, Baird says. He quotes promotional materials from 2011 and 2012, promising buyers of Samsung Smart TVs that they would have direct access to YouTube content through the YouTube app.

But nowhere in the promotional materials for these Smart TVs was any indication that they might ever lose access to those streaming services, Baird claims.

Baird traces the problem to a change in Smart TV technology that happened around 2013. Smart TVs built prior to that year used a Flash-based application programming interface, or API, to stream video content. But in 2013, Samsung and other manufacturers replaced the Flash-based API with a new one using HTML5.

The older, Flash-based Smart TVs lost access to the YouTube app when YouTube retired its Flash-based app this year, Baird says. According to an announcement from YouTube, its Flash-based app was discontinued effective June 26, 2017, when YouTube upgraded to HTML5.

The announcement says owners of Smart TVs from 2012 and earlier can continue watching YouTube by attaching a streaming stick, like those available for Chromecast and Android TV, to their Smart TV’s HDMI input. Or they can upgrade to a new TV, the announcement says, which Baird claims could easily exceed $1,000 in price.

The plaintiff says hundreds of Smart TV owners have complained on online forums about the loss of their YouTube access. He says Samsung representatives respond to the complaints by passing the buck to YouTube.

Baird proposes a plaintiff Class that would cover all persons in the U.S. who purchased new and still own a Samsung Smart TV that lost its ability to directly stream YouTube content in June 2017. He also proposes 27 subclasses that would cover Class Members from specific states.

He seeks an award of actual, statutory and punitive damages and a court order requiring Samsung to reinstate access to YouTube in affected Smart TVs. He also seeks reimbursement of his court costs and attorney fees.

Baird is represented by attorney David R. Ongaro of Ongaro PC.

The Samsung Smart TV YouTube Failure Class Action Lawsuit is Baird v. Samsung Electronics America Inc., Case No. 3:17-cv-06407, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.