502

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 GoogleFacebook, 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.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[-] deadcade@lemmy.deadca.de 12 points 3 months ago

That indicator and the permission system are provided by the OS on your phone. If you trust your OEM not to abuse it, then it works. If the company that made your device is facebook, neither of those features prevent facebook from listening in 24/7.

[-] Vlyn@lemmy.zip 6 points 3 months ago

Facebook doesn't make phones.

[-] irreticent@lemmy.world 3 points 3 months ago

They did once:

"Facebook’s phone collaboration with HTC was a flop back in 2013."

[-] deadcade@lemmy.deadca.de 2 points 3 months ago

They do make other Android-based devices like the Meta Quest line of VR headsets, and Facebook was just an example, any other OEM fits in that statement as well, like Samsung, Google, OnePlus, etc.

[-] greybeard@lemmy.one 2 points 3 months ago

I also think people discount the power of advertising when they think Facebook or Amazon is listening to them. They don't think that maybe why they were talking about xyz was because they saw an ad for it. Then they saw another ad for it after they talked about it and got confused on cause and effect.

this post was submitted on 05 Sep 2024
502 points (89.0% liked)

Technology

59773 readers
5118 users here now

This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.


Our Rules


  1. Follow the lemmy.world rules.
  2. Only tech related content.
  3. Be excellent to each another!
  4. Mod approved content bots can post up to 10 articles per day.
  5. Threads asking for personal tech support may be deleted.
  6. Politics threads may be removed.
  7. No memes allowed as posts, OK to post as comments.
  8. Only approved bots from the list below, to ask if your bot can be added please contact us.
  9. Check for duplicates before posting, duplicates may be removed

Approved Bots


founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS