Google, Amazon, Facebook are secretly listening to users to show targeted ads: CMG

The media conglomerate Cox Media Group has offered tech companies a new tool for creating targeted advertising, which analyzes audio recordings collected from home devices. The existence of this program became known last year, and now the 404 Media outlet has obtained a Cox presentation, confirming that IT giants are eavesdropping on users' conversations.

The tool, named Active Listening, works by receiving data from smart devices that "capture real-time intent data by listening to our conversations." Once this information is collected, advertisers can "combine these voice data with behavioral data to target consumers in the market."

Artificial intelligence is used to collect data on consumer behavior online, leaving a "data trail based on their conversations and online behavior." The AI gathers and analyzes "behavioral and voice data from more than 470 sources."

These tools are offered to advertisers in the United States, where most states have laws prohibiting the recording of phone conversations without a person's knowledge. The presentation states that Cox partners with major tech platforms, including Google, Amazon, and Facebook, but these companies have denied such collaboration.

Google reported that it excluded Cox from its advertising partner program and emphasized that "all advertisers must comply with applicable laws and regulations, as well as our Google Ads policies. When we find ads or advertisers that violate these policies, we take appropriate action."

Amazon stated that the "Amazon Ads platform has never partnered with CMG on this program and does not plan to do so." Meta clarified that the company was listed in the presentation as a "general marketing partner, not a partner 'in this program,'" and referred to a corporate blog post on Facebook's policy regarding the use of microphones for targeted advertising.