A media firm that has worked with the likes of Google and Meta has admitted that it can target adverts based on what you said out loud near device microphones.
Media conglomerate Cox Media Group (CMG) has been pitching tech companies on a new targeted advertising tool that uses audio recordings collected from smart home devices, according to a 404 Media investigation. The company is partners with Facebook, Google, Amazon, and Bing.
In a pitch deck presented to Google, Facebook, and others in November 2023, CMG referred to the technology used for monitoring and active listening as “Voice Data.” The firm also mentioned using artificial intelligence to collect data about consumers’ online behavior.
The problem is that when you accept the terms of service for smart devices and applications with voice interfaces, you give consent to be recorded.
Others around you don’t. That consent isn’t transferable. Nor does it grant wholesale recording even if the owner isn’t expecting it, eg if google present “we need to record in order to do voice to text operations”, then other shit gets used, that’s a problem. And lastly, it doesn’t transfer to other applications. If I consent to be recorded by “Google” that doesn’t grant other ad partners access without explicitly stating so. EULA/TOS isn’t law. Terms and conditions get abused all the time. Law often strikes them down when those terms make it to court.