Atti Abderrahim
Table of Contents
Have you ever been surprised by an ad or promotional video appearing on one of your smartphone apps, discussing something you had just talked about at home or with a friend? If so, you might have wondered if your smartphone is spying on you, especially if this experience has happened to you or others repeatedly. Recently, an American company has put all doubts to rest by explaining in detail how this could be happening — and legally.
At the end of last month, Cox Media Group, an American company, claimed to have developed an AI-powered program called “Active Listening.” This program reportedly has the ability to listen in on conversations through the microphones of smartphones and other smart devices. The details of this technology were disclosed during a marketing event, whose content was leaked by the website “Media 404,” a platform that examines the impact of technology on our world.
The Mechanism of Surveillance
During the event, Cox Media Group revealed that it collaborates with the marketing arms of major tech giants like Facebook, Google, and Amazon to deliver highly targeted promotional messages. The company explained that their program can eavesdrop on users’ conversations via smartphones, laptops, and digital screens. Using artificial intelligence, it can analyze purchasing intentions in real time, enhancing advertisers’ ability to reach their target audience with greater precision.
According to one of the leaked marketing pages, “smart devices can capture real-time data about our intentions by listening to our conversations.” This allows advertising companies to link voice data with behavioral data, making it possible to target ads to potential consumers more effectively.
Debunking the Myths
For years, major advertising platforms have denied these claims. Experts attempting to solve this mystery have concluded that eavesdropping on billions of users would require enormous investments in audio recording, analysis, and transcription technologies. Additionally, it would necessitate a significant increase in servers to analyze and store all the data, creating a financial burden that eavesdropping might not justify.
However, Cox Media Group’s marketing presentation confirmed that such technology exists and uses artificial intelligence to overcome the previously mentioned challenges.
Tracing the Company’s Activities
“Media 404” has been monitoring Cox Media Group’s activities since December of last year. They discovered a post dating back roughly 14 months, which disclosed some details about the developed technology. Although the post was later deleted, it remained stored in the Internet archives under the title “Active Listening Evaluation.”
In that post, the company outlined what it could offer to advertising platforms to reach a user who expressed interest in a particular product. It involved comparing the user’s data with their past data, analyzing their behavior, and creating a list of potential customers.
Is This Spying Legal?
You might wonder if it’s legal for your phone to spy on you. According to the post’s author, it’s entirely legal. When you download an app on your device, it usually asks for your consent to its terms of use. If you take the time to read these terms, which are often lengthy, you might find that “Active Listening” is mentioned in some cases.
One of the leaked marketing pages lists Cox Media Group’s clients, including Google, Amazon, and Facebook, who reportedly work with the company through their marketing arms. However, these companies denied any association with the technology after “Media 404” published its investigation.
The Tech Giants’ Responses
Google removed Cox Media Group from its list of partners, while Meta, the parent company of Facebook, announced it would investigate whether Cox Media Group had violated its terms of use. Meanwhile, Amazon stated that its marketing arm had never used the technology in question and had no plans to do so.
A History of Data Sharing
For years, billions of users have become accustomed to allowing apps to share their personal data. In many cases, they do so under pressure from the company, which might refuse to provide a service or product unless the user grants access to their data. Often, users agree to this, either consciously or unconsciously, by accepting a straightforward request that subjects them to close monitoring.
The Bottom Line
While the idea of your smartphone eavesdropping on your conversations may sound like science fiction, the recent revelations by Cox Media Group suggest that this practice might be more common than we think. And with technology continuously evolving, it’s crucial to stay informed about how our data is being used — and to make conscious choices about the apps and services we use every day.
source : aljazeera
