A media company and two of its marketing partners have been fined for selling a service which, they said, listened in to people’s conversations through their phones. Actually they did nothing of the sort.
Most people have worried at some point that their phone has been listening to them through the microphone. You know how it goes: One minute you’re speaking to your friend about how you’ve always wanted to go to Fiji, the next minute you’re seeing social media ads for vacations there. However, as yet there hasn’t been much real proof that this is actually happening.
But that didn’t stop Cox Media Group from claiming it could listen in. Between 2023 and 2024, the company publicly promoted a service called “Active Listening” or “Voice Data,” claiming it used AI-powered voice-processing technology to capture conversations from smartphones, along with smart TVs and other devices with embedded microphones.
The company told potential advertising clients that the system provided a tool to target, retarget, and retain customers.
The scandal came to light when 404 Media published internal pitch decks from Cox that detailed the supposed “Active Listening” capabilities. After the revelations, Cox initially backpedaled and denied listening to conversations, but the marketing materials contradicted these denials.
The FTC found that the “Active Listening” service was completely fabricated. The service did not listen to consumers’ conversations or use voice data at all, nor did it accurately place ads in customers’ desired geographic locations. Instead, Cox and its partners simply resold email lists obtained from other data brokers at a significant markup.
Worst of all, the companies also falsely claimed that consumers had opted into voice data collection when they had not.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) fined the companies a total of $930,000 for falsely claiming they could spy on consumers. Cox Media Group must pay $880,000, while MindSift and 1010 Digital Works will each pay $25,000. The settlement funds will be used to provide refunds to Cox Media Group customers who were deceived by these false claims.
Are your details being used by cybercriminals?
How to safekeep your personal data
In this case, the data that was being sold came from data brokers. Keeping your personal data away from them requires a combination of preventive measures and active removal efforts.
- Minimize what you share on social media and elsewhere online. Data brokers use scraping tools to gather information from forum posts and public profiles so avoid sharing sensitive details like your birth date, home address, phone number, and financial information.
- Before signing up for online services, loyalty programs, or apps, carefully read privacy policies to understand how companies will collect, use, and share your data.
- For active data removal, your options depend largely on where you live. It’s often best to leave that work to a specialized service you can trust.
- Disable advertising IDs on your smartphones, tablets, and computers through your device settings where possible.
- Use a VPN to hide your IP address and encrypt your browsing traffic, install ad and tracking blockers, and consider using more privacy-focused browsers.
Still wondering if your phone is listening to you?
We looked into this very topic on our Lock and Code podcast. Listen to it below, or search for it on your favorite podcast player.
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