Samsung announced it will ban smart TV applications that route users' internet traffic through residential proxy networks, following a security report that found such apps could expose millions of devices to hijacking. The company said it has already restricted new app registrations that include such proxy functionality and will remove existing apps that contain the code. The ban targets apps that use residential proxy SDKs, which turn the TV into an always‑on tunnel for external web traffic even after the app is closed. A Norwegian cybersecurity firm, Mnemonic, reported that several popular apps, including a Pac‑Man game highlighted in Samsung’s editor’s choice section, contained resproxy code from Bright Data, an Israel‑based proxy provider. Mnemonic researcher Harrison Sand said the code remains dormant until the user accepts a consent screen, after which it runs in the background. The research also showed that the proxy network was used for large‑scale scraping of LinkedIn profiles and collection of AI training data, though only a small portion of traffic was observed. Samsung’s statement said it is working to identify and remove all apps in its store that contain these components. The move follows a similar decision by LG, which last month announced a ban on resproxy software after finding that about 42 % of its app store apps enrolled smart TVs in proxy networks. Resproxy networks are also used by consumer phone apps, digital frames and Android streaming boxes to share internet connections, raising concerns about privacy and potential abuse. While some resproxy services help evade censorship, security firms say they are increasingly linked to cybercrime because the traffic appears to originate from ordinary households. The encryption of traffic through these networks makes inspection difficult, and a single code change on a remote server could activate hundreds of millions of devices. It is unclear whether other manufacturers will adopt similar bans or how the industry will mitigate the associated risks.