Marketer's Bogus Claim of Listening to Devices for Ads Leads to $880K FTC Settlement

In November 2023, marketing firm Cox Media Group (CMG) Local Solutions made dubious claims about a service called Active Listening, stating, "It's true. Your devices are listening to you" and that it could use "voice data" to target ads. This sparked panic and widespread media coverage. However, the claims were unlikely to be true—CMG never explained how it could remotely access devices to capture voice recordings in real time.

Now, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has announced that CMG will pay $880,000 to settle allegations of false advertising. The FTC found that the service did not actually listen to conversations or use voice data; instead, it resold email lists from other data brokers at a markup. Two other marketing firms, 1010 Digital Works LLC and MindSift LLC, will each pay $25,000 settlements.

CMG had claimed that Active Listening relied on an unnamed partner with "growing ability to access microphone data," but a spokesperson later admitted they did not listen to any conversations or have access to such data. The settlement serves as a warning to marketers about making exaggerated claims regarding AI and data privacy.