To be clear, I am not the least bit surprised that this could be possible. Though part of me is still a bit stunned at this story as it is an insane privacy breach if this is true. And what I am talking about is a company called Cox Media Group who claims that it can eavesdrop on your conversations, through microphones in smartphones, TVs, and smart speakers. This comes via 404 Media:
A marketing team within media giant Cox Media Group (CMG) claims it has the capability to listen to ambient conversations of consumers through embedded microphones in smartphones, smart TVs, and other devices to gather data and use it to target ads, according to a review of CMG marketing materials by 404 Media and details from a pitch given to an outside marketing professional. Called “Active Listening,” CMG claims the capability can identify potential customers “based on casual conversations in real time.”
The news signals that what a huge swath of the public has believed for years—that smartphones are listening to people in order to deliver ads—may finally be a reality in certain situations. Until now, there was no evidence that such a capability actually existed, but its myth permeated due to how sophisticated other ad tracking methods have become.
It is not immediately clear if the capability CMG is advertising and claims works is being used on devices in the market today, but the company notes it is “a marketing technique fit for the future. Available today.” 404 Media also found a representative of the company on LinkedIn explicitly asking interested parties to contact them about the product. One marketing professional pitched by CMG on the tech said a CMG representative explained the prices of the service to them.
“What would it mean for your business if you could target potential clients who are actively discussing their need for your services in their day-to-day conversations? No, it’s not a Black Mirror episode—it’s Voice Data, and CMG has the capabilities to use it to your business advantage,” CMG’s website reads.
And:
With Active Listening, CMG claims to be able to “target your advertising to the EXACT people you are looking for,” according to its website. The goal is to target potential clients or customers based on what they say in “their day to day conversations,” the website adds.
Reading this story sent chills down my spine. Now in my case, my household is part of Team Apple. Which means the four HomePod mini’s as well as the three iPhones along with two Apple Watches that my wife and I collectively own are covered by this policy which fully lays out what data Apple collects and why along with what data they may keep and where that data goes. That made me a feel bit better. The only other device in my home that has any form of voice interface is this TCL TV which is powered by the Roku operating system. They have this privacy policy which states the following:
If you link your Roku Device to a non-Roku voice-enabled virtual assistant (e.g., Alexa and Google Assistant), you are choosing to have us disclose device data to the voice assistant provider, such as device type and name, device identifiers, its state (e.g., whether the device is powered on, whether the device is playing video), names of installed streaming service apps, and the names of your device HDMI ports. If you direct such virtual assistant to display content, we will also disclose the content to such voice provider to carry out your request. For information about how these providers use this data, please review their privacy policies.
I have the TV linked to Apple HomeKit. Which means that it is covered by Apple’s privacy policy. And I do have a Roku voice remote that requires me to press a button to do anything. So it’s not actively listening into anything I am doing. So I am fine there as well. Now why am I telling you all of this? Well, depending on what smart devices you have in your home, you might be fine, our you might have an issue:
CMG lists a number of other companies as its partners and publishers. These include Amazon, Microsoft, and Google. None of those companies responded to a request for comment on whether they were aware of this capability or whether it was in active use.
I would assume that if you have any Google, Amazon or Microsoft devices, then you likely have a problem. I say that because the first two are exactly the type of companies who would do anything to gather as much data on you as possible to monetize it in any way possible. The jury is still out on Microsoft. But let us assume that they are in the Google or Amazon camp for now until they prove themselves to be different.
I will be interested to see how CMG and their clients respond to this story now that this is out there. Because I think it is safe to say that this story is going to get a lot of attention. Including from regulators which I am sure that CMG and their clients do not want. Thus if they don’t respond to this with some talking points to try and defuse this, they may have bigger problems on their hands.
A Marketing Company Claims That It Can Listen In On Your Conversation Through Your Devices
Posted in Commentary with tags Privacy on December 15, 2023 by itnerdTo be clear, I am not the least bit surprised that this could be possible. Though part of me is still a bit stunned at this story as it is an insane privacy breach if this is true. And what I am talking about is a company called Cox Media Group who claims that it can eavesdrop on your conversations, through microphones in smartphones, TVs, and smart speakers. This comes via 404 Media:
A marketing team within media giant Cox Media Group (CMG) claims it has the capability to listen to ambient conversations of consumers through embedded microphones in smartphones, smart TVs, and other devices to gather data and use it to target ads, according to a review of CMG marketing materials by 404 Media and details from a pitch given to an outside marketing professional. Called “Active Listening,” CMG claims the capability can identify potential customers “based on casual conversations in real time.”
The news signals that what a huge swath of the public has believed for years—that smartphones are listening to people in order to deliver ads—may finally be a reality in certain situations. Until now, there was no evidence that such a capability actually existed, but its myth permeated due to how sophisticated other ad tracking methods have become.
It is not immediately clear if the capability CMG is advertising and claims works is being used on devices in the market today, but the company notes it is “a marketing technique fit for the future. Available today.” 404 Media also found a representative of the company on LinkedIn explicitly asking interested parties to contact them about the product. One marketing professional pitched by CMG on the tech said a CMG representative explained the prices of the service to them.
“What would it mean for your business if you could target potential clients who are actively discussing their need for your services in their day-to-day conversations? No, it’s not a Black Mirror episode—it’s Voice Data, and CMG has the capabilities to use it to your business advantage,” CMG’s website reads.
And:
With Active Listening, CMG claims to be able to “target your advertising to the EXACT people you are looking for,” according to its website. The goal is to target potential clients or customers based on what they say in “their day to day conversations,” the website adds.
Reading this story sent chills down my spine. Now in my case, my household is part of Team Apple. Which means the four HomePod mini’s as well as the three iPhones along with two Apple Watches that my wife and I collectively own are covered by this policy which fully lays out what data Apple collects and why along with what data they may keep and where that data goes. That made me a feel bit better. The only other device in my home that has any form of voice interface is this TCL TV which is powered by the Roku operating system. They have this privacy policy which states the following:
If you link your Roku Device to a non-Roku voice-enabled virtual assistant (e.g., Alexa and Google Assistant), you are choosing to have us disclose device data to the voice assistant provider, such as device type and name, device identifiers, its state (e.g., whether the device is powered on, whether the device is playing video), names of installed streaming service apps, and the names of your device HDMI ports. If you direct such virtual assistant to display content, we will also disclose the content to such voice provider to carry out your request. For information about how these providers use this data, please review their privacy policies.
I have the TV linked to Apple HomeKit. Which means that it is covered by Apple’s privacy policy. And I do have a Roku voice remote that requires me to press a button to do anything. So it’s not actively listening into anything I am doing. So I am fine there as well. Now why am I telling you all of this? Well, depending on what smart devices you have in your home, you might be fine, our you might have an issue:
CMG lists a number of other companies as its partners and publishers. These include Amazon, Microsoft, and Google. None of those companies responded to a request for comment on whether they were aware of this capability or whether it was in active use.
I would assume that if you have any Google, Amazon or Microsoft devices, then you likely have a problem. I say that because the first two are exactly the type of companies who would do anything to gather as much data on you as possible to monetize it in any way possible. The jury is still out on Microsoft. But let us assume that they are in the Google or Amazon camp for now until they prove themselves to be different.
I will be interested to see how CMG and their clients respond to this story now that this is out there. Because I think it is safe to say that this story is going to get a lot of attention. Including from regulators which I am sure that CMG and their clients do not want. Thus if they don’t respond to this with some talking points to try and defuse this, they may have bigger problems on their hands.
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