Have you ever noticed an ad for something you just discussed? The mystery of whether our phones are eavesdropping has been partly solved with one of Facebook’s advertising associates confirming the use of ‘Active Listening.’
As reported by 404 Media, "Active Listening" refers to a software powered by artificial intelligence that captures "real-time intent data by listening to our conversations." Leaked documents reference a presentation from Cox Media Group (CMG), a major TV and radio company and one of Facebook’s alleged marketing partners. The presentation states, “Advertisers can pair this voice data with behavioral data to target in-market consumers.”
Involvement of Tech Giants
In addition to Facebook, both Google and Amazon reportedly utilize similar strategies and are clients of CMG’s Active Listening service. Upon being contacted by 404 Media regarding this partnership, Google allegedly removed CMG from its “Partners Program.”
Denials from Involved Companies
A spokesperson from Meta clarified that CMG was a general partner, and not part of the program mentioned in the presentation. He 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 CMG to get them to clarify that their program is not based on Meta data.”
Amazon's representative also emphasized that they have never collaborated with CMG for advertising and have no intention to do so in the future.
This isn’t the first time 404 Media has reported on CMG’s questionable voice targeting practices. Last December, 404 Media criticized a marketing company for promoting such intrusive technology on its podcast and discussed the Active Listening feature.
Legal Aspects and User Consent
A blog post from CMG in November last year addressed potential legal concerns, stating, “It is legal for phones and devices to listen to you. When a new app download or update prompts consumers with a multi-page term of use agreement somewhere in the fine print, Active Listening is often included.”
CMG disclosed that it can identify users who are “ready-to-buy” and develop targeted ad lists based on their interests.
