Samsung Second TV Maker Sued for Loss of YouTube App on Older Smart Sets

Samsung on Thursday became the second TV maker in as many days targeted in a federal complaint drawn from YouTube’s decision to stop supporting the older flash-based app embedded in most legacy smart TVs after June 26. If plaintiff Lance Baird, a Los Angeles resident, had known the Samsung smart TV he bought in 2012 “would not have access to YouTube, or would in some date in the future lose access to YouTube, he would have made a different purchasing decision,” said the complaint (in Pacer) filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco. Baird “would have either decided to purchase a non-smart television, another brand that would provide access to YouTube for the life of the product, or pay less for a television due to the loss of YouTube accessibility,” said the complaint, which seeks class-action status on behalf of all U.S. consumers who bought older Samsung smart TVs and then lost YouTube functionality after June 26. Like the action filed Tuesday against Vizio in U.S. District Court in Tacoma, Washington (see 1711010024), the Baird complaint alleges breach of contract, unjust enrichment and negligent misrepresentation against Samsung for not telling consumers they could lose use of YouTube unless they owned smart TVs installed with the newer HTML5 app, which YouTube continues to support. A Samsung spokeswoman declined comment Friday. Lawyers for Baird and for Cody Brenner, the plaintiff in the Tacoma action against Vizio, didn’t comment about whether they plan additional complaints against more TV makers whose older smart sets also lost YouTube functionality after June 26 when the streaming service stopped supporting the legacy flash-based app. Neither the Baird nor the Brenner complaint targets YouTube itself. Representatives for YouTube didn't comment Friday.