Facebook Paid Contractors to Transcribe User Audio Chats

Facebook hired hundreds of third-party contractors to transcribe audio recordings from users of its services, according to anonymous sources who spoke with Bloomberg. The hired workers were not told where the audio data was recorded or how it was obtained. They transcribed conversations between Facebook users, which sometimes included profanity, but were not informed why Facebook needed these transcriptions.

A Facebook spokesperson confirmed the practice and stated that the company stopped transcribing messages more than a week ago. The contractors were tasked with checking whether Facebook’s artificial intelligence correctly interpreted anonymized messages.

According to the company, only users who had given consent for their messages to be listened to in the Facebook Messenger app were affected. However, Bloomberg notes that users were not explicitly warned that their audio data could be reviewed by third parties.

Other Tech Companies Involved in Similar Practices

Facebook is not the only tech giant caught engaging in such secretive activities. In April of this year, it was revealed that Amazon had hired thousands of employees to listen to conversations between users and its Alexa voice assistant. In July, Apple was also exposed for secretly hiring workers to transcribe voice commands given to Siri in various languages.