Source URL: https://news.itsfoss.com/ad-company-listening-to-microphone/
Source: Hacker News
Title: Company Says It Uses Your Phones Mic to Serve Ads for Facebook, Google, etc.
Feedly Summary: Comments
AI Summary and Description: Yes
Summary:
The text highlights concerns regarding user privacy and data exploitation by a marketing agency, Cox Media Group, utilizing AI-driven “Active Listening” technology to collect voice data from smartphones. It raises significant ethical questions about user consent, the legality of data collection practices, and the role of big tech in facilitating such actions.
Detailed Description:
The content describes a troubling situation where a marketing agency, Cox Media Group (CMG), is allegedly using advanced technology to capture and analyze user voice data without sufficient transparency or user consent. Key points include:
– **Company Background**: CMG, based in Atlanta, Georgia, has developed a technology termed “Active Listening,” purportedly designed to collect voice data from users’ smartphones via their microphones.
– **Data Sources**: The agency claims to gather data from over 470 sources, including major platforms like Google, Facebook, Amazon, and LinkedIn. This aggregated data is then leveraged to target advertisements based on behavioral patterns.
– **Pricing Structure**: CMG offers targeted advertising services priced at $100 per day for a 10-mile radius and $200 for a 20-mile radius, effectively monetizing the voice data collected.
– **Partnerships and Legal Concerns**: Although CMG boasts of partnerships with notable tech companies, recent statements from Amazon and Google indicate a severing of connections, raising questions about the agency’s practices and compliance with data usage regulations.
– **Resurfacing Ethical Issues**: The text questions the normalization of such invasive surveillance tactics, especially in light of customer experiences, where users report receiving related advertisements after discussing relevant topics, suggesting clandestine data collection practices.
– **User Awareness and Rights**: The legality of CMG’s data collection methods is brought into question, emphasizing the potential ignorance of users regarding the extent of data permissions granted through lengthy terms of service documents.
Overall, the incident serves as a critical reminder of the need for vigilant privacy practices, transparency from corporations in their data handling, and the importance of regulatory compliance to protect consumer rights in an age increasingly driven by AI and data analytics.