WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) sent three letters to the leadership of Cox Media Group and its clients, Google and Meta, following reporting that Cox Media Group admitted to investors that it listens to users’ smartphone microphones using “Active Listening” software.

According to this reporting, Cox Media Group claimed the company targets advertisements based on phone conversations of potential customers and identified specific clients during a slide deck presentation to investors, including Google and Meta. Both Google and Meta have a troublesome history of ignoring consumer privacy.

Cox Media Group Admitted It Uses Artificial Intelligence to Listen to Phone Conversations

“I write today with concerns following recent reporting by the New York Post that Cox Media Group has admitted to investors that it deploys ‘active listening’ software, which uses artificial intelligence to ‘capture real-time intent data by listening to [users] phone conversations.’”

Reporting Confirms Longstanding Concerns Held by Consumers about Online Privacy

“Consumers have long expressed concerns about their privacy in the virtual space and how their data is misused. If this reporting is true, it confirms longstanding suspicions by many consumers that technology and media companies are violating their privacy for profit by marketing products that closely reflect key words or phrases from private conversations. It is imperative that consumers have the ability to clearly opt in and out of features that track their behavior and that they are alerted when these features are deployed. I request a copy of the slide deck presented to investors.”

Blackburn Demands Google and Meta Reveal Extent “Active Listening” Tools Were Deployed on Users

“I am seeking answers regarding Google’s [and Meta’s] relationship with Cox Media Group, the extent to which, if at all, ‘active listening’ tools were deployed on users, the steps Google [and Meta] [are] taking to investigate the products and services from Cox Media Group used by Google [and on Facebook] and the extent to which those products may have violated any applicable privacy policies or user agreements [and users’ privacy].”

• Last year, Google settled a $5 billion lawsuit claiming it “secretly tracked the internet use of millions of people who thought they were doing their browsing privately.” This is not the first time Google has seen legal action for violating consumers’ privacy rights. A search engine with the reach of Google must prioritize the privacy of its users and use diligence when handling their data.

• In 2019, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) imposed a $5 billion penalty on Facebook for violating consumers’ privacy. Then-FTC Chairman Joe Simons said of Facebook, “despite repeated promises to its billions of users worldwide that they could control how their personal information is shared, Facebook undermined consumers’ choices.” This long-demonstrated pattern of public reassurances by Meta directly contradicts the company’s record of flagrant disregard for user privacy.

• ICYMI: Senator Blackburn Pushes Big Tech For Answers On Their Predatory Privacy Practices

• Blackburn, Wicker Introduce Federal Data Privacy Legislation

Click here to view the letter to Meta Platforms Chairman and CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

Click here to view the letter to Google CEO Sundar Pichai.

Click here to view the letter to Cox Media Group President and CEO Daniel York.