FTC to Require Cox Media Group and Two Other Firms to Pay Nearly $1 Million Over Deceptive "Active Listening" AI Marketing Claims

Summary

The Federal Trade Commission announced a settlement on May 22, 2026 requiring Cox Media Group, MindSift, and 1010 Digital Works to pay nearly $1 million combined to resolve charges that they deceived customers about an AI-marketed "Active Listening" service. The firms claimed their service could "listen in on consumers' conversations overheard by smart devices, in real time, to target advertising," and that it used voice data collected from those devices. The FTC found the service did neither —