After New Hampshire residents received robocalls with a voice imitating that of President Joe Biden, attempting to persuade them to skip voting in the countries first presidential primary, the Federal Communications Commission wants to make AI-generated robocalls illegal.
In an official statement released by the FCC, chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said, “AI-generated voice cloning and images are already sowing confusion by tricking consumers into thinking scams and frauds are legitimate. No matter what celebrity or politician you favor, or what your relationship is with your kin when they call for help, it is possible we could all be a target of these faked calls.”
She continued, “That’s why the FCC is taking steps to recognize this emerging technology as illegal under existing law, giving our partners at State Attorneys General offices across the country new tools they can use to crack down on these scams and protect consumers.”
According to CNN, the FCC has proposed AI robocalls be made illegal under the purview of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). The TCPA is a law passed in 1991 that manages robocalls and telemarketing calls. Per NBC News, the TCPA has been used to prosecute several cases of illegal robocalls.
In 2023, the FCC used it to fine “conservative activists who arranged for Black voters to receive calls falsely telling them that voting could expose them to debt collectors and police departments in 2020.”
New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella is currently investigating the robocall’s using Biden’s voice, as reported earlier by the Deseret News. The move to criminalize AI robocalls under the TCPA will also enable other state attorneys general to combat the use of the new technology, an FCC spokesperson said, according to NBC News.
In the next few weeks, a five-member commission is expected to vote on the change and pass it, the spokesperson said. And there are already 26 states that support the move to criminalize AI robocalls, per Fox Business,