Facebook Partner CMG Uses Phone Mics To Spy And Target Ads

If you’re paranoid about your smartphone eavesdropping on your conversations, you might not be all that wrong.

A new report that cites a pitch deck by Cox Media Group (CMG), an American media conglomerate, reveals that the agency accesses user’s smartphone mics to listen in on conversations and prepares targeted ads for its clients.

So, what did the report say about the agency’s services? Let’s explore!
 

What Was Revealed In CMG’s Pitch Deck?

 

• According to a report by 404 Media, CMG has been listening to people’s conversations via their smartphone’s microphone.

• The details were made clear as 404 Media came across a pitch deck that described CMG’s Active Listening service.

• The company captures data in real-time and leverages its AI-powered Active Listening software to enable targeted ads for its clients to use.

• “Consumers leave a data trail based on their conversations and online behavior,” read an excerpt from the deck.

• This data is then collected, analyzed and processed by an AI tool, after which it’s aligned with a client’s product or service, “to build an audience list in a defined 10-mile radius.”

• Post campaign launch, the technology automatically analyzes site traffic and customers to continue the targeting audiences.

• In a now-deleted (but archived) blog post from November 2023, CMG offers an FAQ section on its Active Listening feature, in which it answers the question “Is Active Listening Legal?”

• The answer: “We know what you're thinking. Is this even legal? The short answer is: yes. It is legal for phones and devices to listen to you. When a new app download or update prompts consumers with a multi-page terms of use agreement somewhere in the fine print, Active Listening is often included.”

• Essentially, the agency accesses users’ phone mics by inserting a clause in long drawn-out terms of agreement document, which people tend to skip and simply ‘accept’.

• The pitch deck also mentions that CMG has been partners with Meta (Facebook Marketing Partner), Google (Premier Partner since the program’s inception 11 years ago) and Amazon (Amazon Advertising).

 

What Did The Pitch Deck Say About Its Active Listening Feature?

 

• Titled “The Power of Voice (and our devices’ microphones), one slide of the pitch deck outlines how the software leverages data from phone microphones. The contents of the slide are as follows:

• “Smart devices capture real-time intent data by listening to our conversations.”

• “Advertisers can pair this voice-data with behavioral data to target in-market consumers.”

• “We use AI to collect this data from 470+ sources to improve campaign deployment, targeting and performance.”

• “You reach your potential customers before your competitors.”

 

What Did Facebook, Google And Amazon Say About CMG?

 

• Meta has been adamant for a long while that Facebook doesn’t and has never used phone microphones to serve or target ads.

• This stance has been reiterated by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg numerous times in US Congressional hearings.

• However, Meta said it would investigate its partner, CMG, to ascertain if the agency violated any terms of service.

• A spokesperson for Meta said, “Meta does not use your phone's microphone for ads and we've been public about this for years. We are reaching out to CMG to get them to clarify that their program is not based on Meta data.”

• When Google was contacted for a comment, the company removed CMG from its Partners Program site, in a move to convey it no longer works with the agency.

• A spokesperson for Google said, "All advertisers must comply with all applicable laws and regulations as well as our Google Ads policies, and when we identify ads or advertisers that violate these policies, we will take appropriate action."

• Amazon clarified that it has never worked with CMG on the program and doesn’t plan to do so. It also mentioned it would take legal action against partners violating its terms of service.

Do you think companies such as CMG should be regulated by government agencies to ensure they don’t engage in immoral practices, even if gained through legal means?

Let us know in the comments below!