The news: A leaked pitch deck from Cox Media Group (CMG) describes the company’s now-defunct advertising targeting plan, based on “active listening,” which proposed using “real-time intent data” from smart device microphones to deliver ads to consumers.

• The sales presentation touts payment tiers of $100 per day and $200 per day for customers based on whether they collect weekly data within a 10-mile or 20-mile radius, respectively.
• The deck also highlights Google, MetaAnd Amazon as important partners with whom CMG maintained extensive relationships.

404 Media reported on the active listening plan in January, before the pitch deck was leaked. Google said it has removed CMG from its partner program after a reviewand all three companies issued statements to 404 Media emphasizing the importance of consent and privacy when collecting user data. CMG has removed mentions of the plan from its website.

Active listening: CMG’s controversial ad tech proposal uses a Consumers’ long-standing fear that smart devices are listening in without consent. Before the removal, CMG’s website even quoted the Netflix Science fiction/horror show “Black Mirror” in a surprisingly insensitive short description.

• CMG claimed to use AI to collect and analyze consumer data, combining the results with customers’ databases to create consumer profiles. If active listening were to be implemented, it would be a massive leap in advertising technology – but one that crosses a red line for consumers and highlights the conflict between targeted advertising and consumer privacy.
• At a time when data theft is commonplace and artificial intelligence can be used to imitate real people, the prospect of voice recordings falling into the hands of criminals is particularly worrying.

The private era: In recent years, regulatory and ad tech trends have shifted toward greater consumer privacy.

• This is the basis for fundamental changes in digital advertising, such as the move away from third-party cookies that no longer meet changing privacy standards (although Google recently signaled that Third-party cookies are stored to a limited extent).
• Nearly two-thirds of U.S. states have passed data protection lawswith further laws to come into force at a later date, according to the International Association of Privacy Professionals. European regulators have also increasingly intense eye regarding the data protection and consent practices of large platforms.
• The implicit violation of consent that active listening represents is likely the reason for the quick and strong denials from Google, Meta and Amazon.

Our opinion: Ad targeting capabilities should not come at the expense of user privacy. Marketers should carefully evaluate their ad targeting methods and ensure they comply not only with current privacy regulations, but also with those that will soon emerge.

Now is the time to act: Clinging to expiring privacy practices will leave marketers behind when new standards come into force.