Mobile Secrecy? Maybe Not
September 9, 2024
This essay is the work of a dumb dinobaby. No smart software required.
No, you are not imagining it. The Daily Mail reports, “Shocking Leak Suggests Your Phone Really Is Listening in on Your Conversations” to create targeted ads. A pitch deck reportedly made by marketing firm Cox Media Group (CMG) was leaked to 404 Media. The presentation proudly claims Facebook, Google, and Amazon are clients and suggests they all use its “Active-Listening” AI software to pluck actionable marketing intel from users’ conversations. Writer Ellyn Lapointe tells us:
“The slideshow details the six-step process that CMG’s Active-Listening software uses to collect consumer’s voice data through seemingly any microphone-equipped device, including your smartphone, laptop or home assistant. It’s unclear from the slideshow whether the Active-Listening software is eavesdropping constantly, or only at specific times when the phone mic is activated, such as during a call. Advertisers then use these insights to target ‘in-market consumers,’ which are people actively considering buying a particular product or service. If your voice or behavioral data suggests you are considering buying something, they will serve you advertisements for that item. For example, talking about or searching for Toyota cars could prompt you to start seeing ads for their newest models. ‘Once launched, the technology automatically analyzes your site traffic and customers to fuel audience targeting on an ongoing basis,’ the deck states. So, if you feel like you see more ads for a particular product after talking about it with a friend, or searching for it online, this may be the reason why. For years, smart-device users have speculated that their phones or tablets are listening to what they say. But most tech companies have flat-out denied these claims.”
In fact, Google was so eager to distance itself from this pitch deck it promptly removed CMG from its “Partners Program” website. Meta says it will prod CMG to clarify Active-Listening does not feed on Facebook or Instagram data. And Amazon flat out denied ever working with CMG. On this particular software, anyway.
404 Media has been pulling this thread for some time. It first reported the existence of Active-Listening in December 2023. The next day, it called out small AI firm MindSift for bragging it used smart-device speakers to target ads. Lapointe notes CMG claimed in November 2023, in a since-deleted blog post, that its surveillance is entirely legal. Naturally, the secret is literally in the fine print—of multi-page user agreements. Because of course it is.
Cynthia Murrell, September 9, 2024
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