Cox Media fined after bragging it spied on users through their phones

A perplexing controversy has resurfaced for Cox Media and two affiliated marketing firms, which previously claimed they were capable of secretly monitoring users through their phones and smart devices—despite scant evidence supporting such assertions. On Thursday, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) disclosed that Cox, along with MindSift and 1010 Digital Works, would disburse a total of $930,000 to resolve allegations of misleading claims about surveillance to enhance advertising targeting.

As reported by Techdirt two years ago, Cox made public statements regarding a system known as Voice Data in 2023. They communicated to prospective digital marketing clients that they could transform "every casual conversation between two consumers into a tool for you to target, retarget, and retain customers." This technology was likened to a scenario out of Black Mirror, presenting it as a tangible instance of the prevalent, albeit largely unfounded, narrative that social media platforms eavesdrop on users through their phone microphones. Although Cox later retracted its claims regarding actual monitoring of conversations, 404 Media released several internal pitch materials that reiterated this grim portrayal.

At the time, skepticism regarding the functionality of this service was widespread, and the FTC’s findings corroborate this doubt. The FTC stated, "This service did not, in fact, listen in on consumers' conversations or use voice data at all — nor did the service accurately place ads in customers' desired locations." Rather, the operations of these companies mainly involved reselling email lists procured from other data brokers, at a substantial markup. Furthermore, the agency contended that the companies misled consumers about their supposed consent to participate in this system, thereby breaching legal regulations even if they had the capability to surveil individuals.