I’m genuinely concerned this will lead to SmartTV with unblockable “telemetry”…
That might be a valid worry, but RedCap changes nothing here. This is the 5G NR replacement for LTE's Category 1. Other than some potential power saving (which doesn't matter to a smart TV plugged into the wall), the only reason you'd choose a RedCap radio today over a Cat 1 radio is preparing for a future where more and more spectrum is dedicated to 5G NR and less for LTE. Otherwise, the Cat 1 radio will be the cheaper option.
If so it will lead to the end of "TV" for those who care about such things. A monitor plus some computing device can do everything a "TV" can but does not contain such hidden spies unless it runs some commercial OS like Windows 11. Just use something like a Raspberry Pi, one of the many alternatives or an old diskless workstation and put e.g. Kodi on it and your "TV" is ready.