Cox Media Group marketers have claimed that they can create targeted advertising campaigns based on private conversations captured through always-on devices.

Cox deletes ‘Active Listening’ ad pitch after boasting that it eavesdrops though our phones::undefined

  • piecat@lemmy.worldEnglish
    73·
    11 months ago

    Something that can be done easily and may be done in the future, if it hasn’t been discovered yet

    Clandestine methods have been known since the 2000s. We know they’re scummy and want our data. Why does this seem too crazy?

    • InFerNo@lemmy.mlEnglish
      51·
      11 months ago

      Because it would result in a scandal and it seems easily discoverable (by professional investigators/engineers). I don’t know. It’s likely done on a small, targeted, scale, but can’t imagine this rolled out on a large scale. Too little gain for the potential lashback, quite some factors need to be right, too.

    • willis936@lemmy.worldEnglish
      32·
      11 months ago

      The economics aren’t there. A cellular chip and a subscription will not pay for the private conversations of a random house.

      • piecat@lemmy.worldEnglish
        1·
        11 months ago

        You could be right, but I’m not alleging they would use cell.

        Presumably the smart appliance already has wireless capabilities like WiFi/BLE. And then it’s just a software exercise on how to code an interface between devices of the same manufacturer.