A California consumer recently sued The Home Depot and Google for wiretapping and privacy law violations. See complaint. What did these companies allegedly do? Something you would never expect!
Apparently, sine 2021, The Home Depot has been utilizing a Google service called Cloud Contact Center AI. It monitors and analyzes customer service calls in real time, and based on the information being talked about in the call, Google provides suggestions to the live Home Depot agent of what to say to the consumer next.
*MOUSE PRINT:
The consumer says:
23. Plaintiff was not aware, and had no reason to believe, that his communications were simultaneously being disclosed to a third party: Google. Plaintiff was not informed at the beginning of his calls that Google would be monitoring and recording the calls.
24. When Plaintiff spoke with human Home Depot customer service representatives, he had a reasonable expectation that the conversation was only between himself and Home Depot.
It is unclear, if like most companies, The Home Depot announces that calls are being recorded. Even if it does, such a statement clearly does not disclose, that another company, Google, is also listening in.
Under the California Invasion of Privacy Act it is illegal for anyone without authorization who “reads, or attempts to read, or learn the contents or meaning of any message, report, or communication while the same is in transit or passing over any wire, line, or cable…”
The consumer’s lawyers are asking the court to grant injunctive relief to have the companies immediately stop the practices complained of unless all parties to the conversation have been informed of and agreed to the practice.
How do you feel about a company secretly using AI (artificial intelligence) to analyze customer service conversations?