The FCC is outlawing robocalls with AI-generated voice clones amid concerns these scams can influence voters and interfere in elections.
The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday made AI-generated robocalls mimicking the voices of political candidates to fool voters illegal.
With the unanimous adoption of a declaratory ruling that recognizes calls made with AI-generated voices are „artificial“ under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), a 1991 law restricting junk calls that use artificial and prerecorded voice messages, the FCC said it was giving state attorneys general new tools to go after those responsible for voice cloning scams.
The decision was announced days after New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella revealed earlier this week that nefarious robocalls with an AI-generated clone of President Biden’s voice urging recipients not to participate in the Jan. 23 primaries – and instead save their votes for the November election – had been traced to two Texas companies.
Formella vowed potential civil and criminal action at the state and federal level.
The FCC ruling, which takes effect immediately, makes voice cloning technology used in common robocall scams targeting consumers illegal.
„Bad actors are using AI-generated voices in unsolicited robocalls to extort vulnerable family members, imitate celebrities, and misinform voters. We’re putting the fraudsters behind these robocalls on notice,“ FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said in a statement. „State Attorneys General will now have new tools to crack down on these scams and ensure the public is protected from fraud and misinformation.“
These types of calls have increased during the last few years, as this technology now has the potential to confuse consumers with misinformation by imitating the voices of celebrities, political candidates, and close family members, the FCC noted. While currently state attorneys general can target the outcome of an unwanted AI-voice generated robocall, such as the scam or fraud they are seeking to perpetrate, the commission explained, the new action announced Thursday now makes the act of using AI to generate the voice in these robocalls itself illegal, expanding the legal avenues through which state law enforcement agencies can hold these perpetrators accountable under the law.
