Case File #84-CV-7922

United States District Court – Eastern District of Virginia

United States of America v. Zenith Corporation et al.

Filed: May 12, 1984 | Status: Settled Under Seal (Nov 1985)

Summary of Proceedings

This file details the classified federal case United States v. Zenith Corporation, a controversial and short-lived legal proceeding that sought to investigate the alleged covert surveillance partnership between federal intelligence agencies and multiple consumer electronics manufacturers during the late 20th century.

The core allegation revolved around a secret government surveillance initiative codenamed “Watch While You Sleep”, believed to have begun in 1967 under the Office of Civilian Observation Technologies (OCOT). The program purportedly involved the installation of micro-optical surveillance components within consumer television sets—especially models equipped with VHS capability—allowing for passive audio and visual monitoring within American homes.

Key Allegations

Installation of covert CMOS lens units in VHS ports of household television sets
Motorized flaps masking surveillance equipment in home entertainment systems
Coordinated data siphoning via analog signal interference broadcast on UHF bands
Distribution of modified televisions via federal contract #4711-B signed with Zenith Corporation in 1974

Notable Testimonies (Declassified Excerpts)

“The flap was motorized by design. If it jammed, it wasn’t mechanical error—it was realignment. We were instructed never to speak about it outside internal calibration protocols.”
– Technician Witness 0427A, Initial Deposition, June 5, 1984

“The red standby light was never just an indicator. In some models, it was a dual-function low-light sensor and status beacon, feeding location-aware data to the base transmitter.”
– Dr. Leonard S. Greaves, Former Zenith Embedded Systems Engineer

Judicial Summary

Presiding over the case was the Honorable Judge Madeline R. Costello, whose bench ruling on July 8, 1985, ordered all technical exhibits sealed under Executive Directive 89-A2, citing “substantial and irreparable risk to national cohesion and trust in domestic technologies.”

A 12-member jury was empaneled but dismissed on Day 3 of trial without clear explanation. Court logs note a private in-chambers meeting with officials from the Department of Homeland Integrity and the Defense Surveillance Bureau (DSB), after which public proceedings ceased entirely.

Evidence Log (Partial)

Exhibit A: VHS Assembly Schematics – Marked "OP-Glass/RET/Scan, Rev 3"
Exhibit B: Memo from OCOT, Subject Line: "Domestic Penetration Models: ’78–’81 Batch"
Exhibit C: Purchase Order #C1979-22 – 2.4 million CMOS units, marked for “civil deployment”

Unresolved Questions

Why were transcripts destroyed despite FOIA petitions in 1991 and 2006?
What was the true scope of surveillance—audio only, or full visual feeds?
What role did the Department of Commerce play in labeling such products as "compliant"?

Conclusion

Despite its potential to shake the public’s trust in government and commerce, Case #84-CV-7922 was quietly settled out of court. All documentation remains sealed under national security privileges, and no involved corporations were ever formally charged or fined. The “Watch While You Sleep” initiative, while officially denied, continues to be the subject of FOIA requests and independent investigations to this day.