Cellphone (File) U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) sent letters Tuesday to the leadership of Cox Media Group, Google, and Meta following rep
U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) sent letters Tuesday to the leadership of Cox Media Group, Google, and Meta following reports that Cox Media Group admitted to investors it uses “Active Listening” software to listen to smartphone microphones.
The software allegedly targets advertisements based on potential customers’ phone conversations, with Google and Meta named as specific clients during a presentation to investors.
Both companies have been criticized in the past for ignoring consumer privacy concerns.
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Cox Media Group Admitted to Using AI for Listening to Phone Conversations
“I write today with concerns following recent reporting by the New York Post that Cox Media Group has admitted to investors that it deploys ‘active listening’ software, which uses artificial intelligence to ‘capture real-time intent data by listening to [users’] phone conversations,'” Blackburn stated in her letter.
“Consumers have long expressed concerns about their privacy in the virtual space and how their data is misused. If this reporting is true, it confirms longstanding suspicions by many consumers that technology and media companies are violating their privacy for profit by marketing products that closely reflect key words or phrases from private conversations. It is imperative that consumers have the ability to clearly opt in and out of features that track their behavior and that they are alerted when these features are deployed. I request a copy of the slide deck presented to investors.”
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In her letters to Google and Meta, Blackburn demanded clarity on their involvement with Cox Media Group. “I am seeking answers regarding Google’s [and Meta’s] relationship with Cox Media Group, whether ‘active listening’ tools were deployed on users, and what steps Google [and Meta] are taking to investigate these products and services to ensure no privacy violations occurred,” Blackburn wrote.
Google has previously faced legal action over privacy violations, including a $5 billion settlement last year for allegedly tracking users’ internet activity even in private browsing modes. Meta (formerly Facebook) was hit with a $5 billion penalty by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in 2019 for privacy violations. Both companies have been criticized for failing to prioritize user privacy despite public reassurances to the contrary.
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Senator Blackburn’s letters aim to uncover the extent of any privacy violations and ensure that users’ personal information is safeguarded.
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