News and discussions about technology

241 readers

1 users here now

A place to share and discuss the latest news in the world of all kinds of technology. **Click here to support the development of Kbin**

founded 2 years ago

Marketing Company Claims That It Actually Is Listening to Your Phone and Smart Speakers to Target Ads (www.404media.co)

submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

5 comments fedilink hide all child comments

A marketing team within media giant Cox Media Group (CMG) claims it has the capability to listen to ambient conversations of consumers through embedded microphones in smartphones, smart TVs, and other devices to gather data and use it to target ads, according to a review of CMG marketing materials by 404 Media and details from a pitch given to an outside marketing professional. Called “Active Listening,” CMG claims the capability can identify potential customers “based on casual conversations in real time.”

top 5 comments

sorted by: hot top controversial new old

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Which brands have this technology? I need to know which devices to douse with lighter fluid.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

That is not clear yet. But wouldn't be surprised if a large number of them fits the bill.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

It's in a lot of item's TOS. I've started finding the TOS online before I buy things. I also try not to have any "smart" items, but that's getting harder to do with IOT.

[–] Art3sian 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

People freak out about this but I’m a marketer, and it’s not as bad as people think.

You’re a data point in a database with millions of other data points, and all targeting towards you is automated through tagging. No one is specifically looking at you or specifically listening to you. It’s not even coded and stored in ways that can be consumed as images or sound.

For the record, I don’t work with this tech. I just know how it works, and where I don’t necessarily agree with it, I also don’t care because of how I know it works.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

This is bad and remains an invasion of our privacy. There is no justification for snooping on unsuspecting individuals. And you need to consider the fact that ads and marketing are not just for bathing soaps or toothpastes, they are also used at large scale by political actors. Such intimate levels of data can easily be weaponised and used for social engineering both by corporate and non-corporate entities.