It looks like the TVs are scanning for accessible WANs on their own, and they still store some data (I'm not sure what happens when they reach full capacity.)

Don't worry, these companies are working on a way around that, too. https://vi-control.net/community/threads/lg-monitors-silently-trigger-malware-installation-on-windows.173754/

I just got a new smart TV that we'll never connect to wifi, however I worry now that the Google tv device I have connected to it may pass some data to it. I wouldn't put it past these slimy fucks. Even if it's illegal (not sure if it is but it should be) they still might do it.

I can totally imagine them establishing some two way connection so that the Google tv is providing data to the original manufacturer of the TV as a mutually beneficial spy program.