FTC Settles With Cox Media Group Over Fake 'Active Listening' Ad Targeting Claims

The US Federal Trade Commission reached settlements with Cox Media Group Local Solutions and marketing firms MindSift LLC and 1010 Digital Works LLC over claims that an ad product marketed as "Active Listening" or "Voice Data" could use AI and microphone data from phones, smart TVs, and other smart devices to target ads based on consumers’ conversations. The companies promoted the service in 2023 and 2024 as if consumers had opted into voice-data collection and as if advertisers could use captured speech to improve localized ad placement, raising concerns that devices were secretly listening to users.

The FTC said those claims were false: the service did not listen to conversations, did not collect voice data, and did not deliver the advertised location-based targeting. Instead, Cox Media Group allegedly resold email lists obtained from other data brokers at a markup. Under the settlements, Cox Media Group will pay $880,000, while MindSift and 1010 Digital Works will each pay $25,000, for a total of $930,000; the money is intended to refund affected customers misled by the marketing.