On 26th August, it was revealed that the marketing firm Cox Media Group admitted to listening to users’ smartphone microphones. The firm boasts some notable clients, including Facebook and Google. CMG stated that the information collected through this microphone listening is used to place ads based on the conversations.
The company’s admission came during a pitch deck to investors, where it disclosed that its “Active Listening” software uses Artificial Intelligence to “capture real-time intent data by listening to our conversations.” The company explained that voice data can then be paired with behavioural data to target in-market customers for ads.
CMG noted that customers “leave a data trail based on their conversations and online behaviour,” which is collected and analysed by the AI-powered software. This data is sourced from over 470 different channels.
Following the revelation, Google reportedly removed CMG from its “partner program” website. A Google spokesperson said in a statement, “All advertisers must comply with all applicable laws and regulations as well as our Google Ads policies, and when we identify ads or advertisers that violate these policies, we will take appropriate action.”
Furthermore, Meta, the parent company of Facebook, has also said that it is reviewing CMG to determine if the marketing company has violated any terms. A Meta spokesperson stated, “Meta does not use your phone’s microphone for ads and we’ve been public about this for years. We are reaching out to Cox Media Group to get them to clarify that their programme is not based on Metadata.”
Interestingly, in a now-deleted blog post, Cox Media Group noted that there have been questions about the legality of active listening. The post stated, “It is legal for phones and devices to listen to you. When a new app download or update prompts consumers with multi-page terms of use agreement, somewhere in the fine print, Active Listening is often included.”
There have been several reports where users have alleged that they see ads about products, including travel and appliances, shortly after having conversations about them. These ads appear even though they did not search for the products, raising questions about whether devices equipped with microphones are actively listening to users.
