Last week a 404 Media piece went viral, thanks to an alarming series of allegations about the apparent ability of smart devices to listen in on our conversations.
A marketing team within media giant Cox Media Group claims it has the capability to listen to ambient conversations of consumers through embedded microphones in smartphones, smart TVs, and other devices to gather data and use it to target ads, according to a review of CMG marketing materials by 404 Media and details from a pitch given to an outside marketing professional.
Two blog posts on the Cox Global Media Local Solutions website made some startling claims.
We can identify buyers based on casual conversations in real time.
It may seem like black magic, but it's not-it's AI. The growing ability to access microphone data on devices like smartphones and tablets enables our technology partner to aggregate and analyze voice data during pre-purchase conversations.
By incorporating and analyzing customer data gleaned from conversations happening around smart devices, we can pinpoint where and when customers are most likely to engage with ads.
Our technology detects relevant conversations via smartphones, smart TVs, and other devices.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Justin does SEO and local ads for CMG's network of radio stations.
My conclusion: Justin got the keys to the blog and started publishing stuff without any oversight from management, which was busy trying to deal with the 50 radio stations and 10 local TV stations that bring in 96% of their revenue every year in a market that is collapsing at an alarming rate.
I have a problem with the way 404 Media wrote this story up.
They quoted a couple of thoroughly incredible blog posts and they interviewed some hapless sucker who sat through a fantastical pitch from his CMG Local Solutions rep.
Smart devices are filled with hardware whose entire job is to listen for your commands and turn them into actions.
A decade or more ago, the CIA tried to build an app to hack Samsung smart TVs so they could listen in to random conversations by people they were targeting.
It's even more difficult to imagine that Apple or Google would allow anyone to eavesdrop on conversations using your smartphone.
Cox Media Group was created when Cox Enterprises spun off its local radio, TV, and newspaper businesses into a company that it then sold to a private equity management firm called Apollo Media.
CMG is a minor player in the media game, and its Local Solutions group is an SEO shop that sells ads and video pre-rolls to local businesses.
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The genuinely large companies in charge of those devices are constrained by regulatory agencies in the US and Europe.
404 Media knew it didn't happen, but they collected the hundreds of millions of clicks associated with this BS story anyway.
Maybe next time you see a story from 404 Media, you should tell them exactly what you think.
This Cyber News was published on www.zdnet.com. Publication date: Mon, 18 Dec 2023 18:43:04 +0000