FCC moves to criminalize most AI-generated robocalls

The Federal Communications Commission is moving to explicitly criminalize unsolicited robocalls that use voices made with artificial intelligence, the agency said Wednesday.

The Federal Communications Commission is moving to explicitly criminalize unsolicited robocalls that use voices made with artificial intelligence, the agency said Wednesday.

The announcement comes on the heels of a fake message, created with AI to mimic the voice of President Joe Biden, that told New Hampshire residents not to vote in the state’s primary election.

The proposal would outlaw such robocalls under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, or TCPA, a 1991 law that regulates automated political and marketing calls made without the receivers’ consent.

The TCPA has been used in several high-profile prosecutions for illegal robocalls. Last year the FCC imposed a $5 million penalty against 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. The FCC imposed a $300 million fine for a company that spammed phones with auto warranty ads. 

The five-member commission is expected to vote on and pass the change in the coming weeks, an FCC spokesperson said. 

https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/fcc-moves-criminalize-ai-generated-robocalls-rcna136347

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