FTC settles with Cox Media and partners over false claims of phone spying for ads

The Federal Trade Commission announced that Cox Media, MindSift and 1010 Digital Works will pay a total of $930,000 to settle allegations that they lied about using phone and smart device microphones to spy on users for ad targeting. The companies had publicly claimed a system called Voice Data could turn casual conversations into ad targeting tools, comparing it to an episode of Black Mirror. Internal pitch decks made similar claims. The FTC said the service did not listen to conversations or use voice data at all. Instead it resold email lists obtained from other data brokers at a significant markup. The agency also alleged the companies lied about consumers having opted into the system.