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Free Phone Calls... If Advertisers Can Eavesdrop

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the why-are-my-ads-all-about-boobs dept.

Dekortage writes "Today, Pudding Media is introducing an Internet phone service similar to Skype's online service, but without any toll charges. The catch: they are eavesdropping on phone calls with voice recognition software to monitor calls, then push conversation-relevant the ads to the subscriber's computer screen. Interestingly, during tests, "conversations [were] actually changing based on what was on the screen," said the president. "Our ability to influence the conversation was remarkable.""

4 of 246 comments (clear)

  1. riight. by apodyopsis · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I wonder if their software can detect if I dial the speaking clock and leave it off hook?
    http://www.telephonesuk.co.uk/speaking_clock.htm

    Seriously, this sounds a little intrusive. Voice recognition my ass, I bet there is a clause in their contract stating the call may be recorded for future training, enhancement, fun, profit and any damn reason they like. 'Scuze me while I reach for my phrases and codes book.

  2. Re:Time to learn an obscure foreign language by rhartness · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Which raises my question, will the receiver of the phone call know that they are being eavesdropped upon? What about their rights? Idiots occasionally call me and I don't want to have to worry about this. BTW, I didn't RTFA. The answer could already be in there.

  3. Except that ... by IgnoramusMaximus · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Except that this is a legal morass in the making.

    Sure, they got an opt-in of the caller but do they have opt-in from the recipient?! So some imbecile calls you on that thing, and without warning you are being monitored/recorded by some inane corporate NSA-wannabe operation, with no idea by whom and where your call is being listened to, and retained for purposes you can't predict.

    The only way I can see this being even remotely legal in many places is if you get a message in the vain of "The party calling you has opted for recording of this call for undetermined purposes by any and all corporate afilliates of afilliates of the NSA-wannabies who paid the sheep in question for his call, Press 1 to accept the incoming call, Baaaaah, Press 2 to indicate that you still have a brain..." or some such.

    1. Re:Except that ... by IgnoramusMaximus · · Score: 5, Insightful

      They are not keeping logs? Don't make me laugh. How would they even keep statistics of what is going on with their ad system?! How would they prove to their customers, the ad buyers, that they are actually popping them in context, instead of simply cheating and doing it at random?!

      You've confused corporate-speak with reality.

      In real life, in order to do voice recognition function, it has to be tuned on real data. In order to tune it, you have to collect samples, listen to them yourself and then compare the results to the automated recognition system. That is what they, by necessity, must do. Furthermore, the very process requires that your conversation is recorded, in some stages of the process, in digital form, even if that recording is supposed to be discarded further on. It is tivial for the employees or an unscrupulous business person to take advantage of that. And I guarantee you that in the fine, fine print of your "free service" agreement you agree to not hold them responsible should your conversations find their way to the "stupidest phone calls evah!" web site or some such.

      In short, when you sign for this shit, you are as good as recorded for any and all uses the corporate crooks can think of today or will think of tommorrow.