Islamabad, Sep 4: When talking about a certain product or topic, have you ever had the feeling that your phone was listening in on your talks and showing you eerily appropriate advertisements?
Although rumors of these activities have been around for a while, a Facebook partner company has provided us with hard proof.
Recent research from 404 Media has provided insight into the contentious “Active Listening” advertising technology.
One of Facebook’s marketing partners created this program, which uses artificial intelligence to scan user chats in real-time and extract useful “intent data” for targeted advertising.
The story makes reference to leaked documents, one of which is a pitch deck from well-known radio and television company Cox Media Group (CMG).
“Advertisers can pair this voice data with behavioral data to target in-market consumers,” the deck clearly says.
This information validates long-standing concerns about the volume of personal information being gathered and used for profit, even our spoken words.
Although Facebook’s connection to the contentious software developed by CMG has come to light, it seems that Google and Amazon have also used this service.
Google allegedly kicked CMG out of its “Partners Program” when 404 Media raised concerns, implying a break from the contentious ad technology.
The parent company of Facebook, Meta, has refuted any use of smartphone microphones for targeted advertising, stating that this has always been their policy.
A representative for Meta explained that CMG was not directly associated with the “Active Listening” program; rather, it was a general partner.
According to reports, Meta is asking CMG for clarification to make sure their program doesn’t depend on Meta user data.
In a similar vein, an Amazon representative declared that the business has no current or historical association with CMG for promotional purposes.
