Confirming many people's worst suspicions, a new report uses leaked marketing materials to suggest that big tech companies are using AI software to eavesdrop on users' conversations via their devices.
of Daily Mail Reports A leaked presentation from marketing firm Cox Media Group (CMG) details how the company's “active listening” software listens to consumer conversations via the microphones in their phones, laptops and home assistants, and uses AI to collect and analyze “real-time intent data.” The presentation touts Facebook, Google and Amazon as CMG clients, suggesting that these tech giants could be deploying active listening services to target ads to users based on what they say in private.
leak, First reported 404 Media's study offers an inside look at the long-denied practice of tech companies using their devices' microphones to collect data on users for advertising purposes. CMG's active listening software can combine voice data with a user's online behavior to allegedly identify “in-market consumers” who are actively considering a purchase. For example, the software can determine from a private conversation that a user is thinking about buying a car and serve them targeted ads for cars.
The presentation outlines a detailed six-step process that the active listening AI uses to extract intent data from conversations it hears on any device with a microphone. It's unclear whether the software listens all the time or only upon certain triggers, like when you make a phone call. But the system appears sophisticated enough to analyze the voice data it collects and combine it with tracking of online activity to accurately identify high-value consumers who are on the verge of making a purchase.
Following the revelations, Google quickly distanced itself from CMG and removed it from its list of official marketing partners. Meta and Amazon issued statements indicating they were investigating CMG for possible violations of their data privacy policies. However, despite widespread suspicions from users, all three tech giants have so far denied using such eavesdropping software.
The leak sheds light on CMG's surprising claim that its “active listening” tool is entirely legal, and that user consent is buried in the fine print of complex terms of service. In a now-deleted blog post, CMG boasted that “if a new app download or update has multi-page terms of service somewhere in the fine print, active listening is likely included.”
For years, tech companies have assured the public that the astonishing accuracy of digital advertising is simply the result of super-clever predictive AI, never any nefarious eavesdropping. Facebook’s privacy policy still insists, “We don’t listen to your conversations.” But the leak will undoubtedly intensify long-simmering concerns that big tech companies are secretly spying on private aspects of our lives to run their profit-generating ad-targeting machines.
As details emerge, the “active listening” revelations could spark a major privacy overhaul of digital surveillance abuses. At the very least, they may make millions of anxious users think twice before speaking freely within earshot of their devices. Because if this leak is any indication, there's a good chance that Alexa, Siri, or Google are secretly eavesdropping and trying to use your private thoughts for profit.
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Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering free speech and online censorship.
