Cox Media Group has introduced a tool for tech companies that facilitates the creation of targeted advertising by analyzing audio recordings from home devices. This program’s existence became known last year, and now 404 Media has obtained a presentation from Cox, confirming that tech giants are eavesdropping on users’ conversations.
How Active Listening Works
The tool, named Active Listening, functions by receiving data from smart devices that “capture real-time intent data by listening to our conversations.” Once this data is collected, advertisers can “combine this voice data with behavioral data to target consumers in the market.”
Artificial intelligence plays a crucial role in collecting and analyzing data on consumer behavior online. Consumers leave a “data trail” based on their conversations and online behavior. The AI gathers and processes “behavioral and voice data from more than 470 sources.” These tools are being offered to advertisers in the United States, where most states have wiretapping laws—recording someone without their knowledge is generally illegal. The presentation from Cox mentions partnerships with major tech platforms, including Google, Amazon, and Facebook, though these companies have denied such relationships, notes NIXsolutions.
Tech Giants’ Response
Google stated that it had removed Cox from its advertising partners program, emphasizing that “all advertisers must comply with all applicable laws and regulations, as well as our Google Ads policies, and when we find ads or advertisers that violate these policies, we take appropriate action.” Amazon clarified that Amazon Ads “has never partnered with CMG under this program and has no plans to do so.” Meta noted that its company was listed in the presentation as a “general marketing partner, not a partner ‘in this program,'” and also referred to a blog post on Facebook’s policy regarding the use of microphones for targeted advertising.
We’ll keep you updated as more information becomes available.