By Ali Swenson -
The Associated Press
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Thursday banned robocalls containing voices generated by Artificial Intelligence (AI), a decision that sends a clear message that exploiting the technology to scam people will not be tolerated. and mislead voters.
The unanimous ruling concerns robocalls made with artificial intelligence voice cloning tools under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, a 1991 law that restricts "junk" calls that use artificial, prerecorded voice messages.
The announcement comes as New Hampshire authorities advance their investigation into AI-generated robotic calls that imitated President Joe Biden's voice to discourage people from voting in the state's first primary last month.
Effective immediately, the regulations empower the FCC to fine companies that use AI voices in their calls or block service providers that transmit them.
It also opens the door for
recipients to file lawsuits
and gives state attorneys general a new mechanism to crack down on violators.
The agency's president, Jessica Rosenworcel, said bad actors have been using AI-generated voices in
robocalls
to misinform voters, impersonate celebrities and extort family members.
“It seems like something from the distant future, but this threat is already here,” Rosenworcel told The Associated Press on Wednesday, while the commission was studying the regulations.
“All of us could be on the receiving end of these hoax calls, so that's why we felt the time to act was now.”
[Artificial intelligence joins the battle to clarify the fate of thousands of missing people]
Under consumer protection law, telemarketers cannot use autodialers or artificial or prerecorded voice messages to call mobile phones, nor can they make such calls to landlines without the recipient's prior written consent.
According to the FCC, the new rules classify AI-generated voices in robocalls as “artificial” and therefore subject to the same rules.
Those who violate the law can face steep fines, with
a maximum of more than $23,000 per call
, according to the FCC.
The agency has already used the law to clamp down on robocallers who interfere in elections, including fining two conservative pranksters $5 million for falsely warning residents in predominantly black areas that voting by mail could increase your risk of detention, debt collection and forced vaccination.
The law also gives call recipients the right to take legal action and potentially recover up to $1,500 in damages for each unwanted call.
Rosenworcel explained that the Commission began studying the outlawing of robotic calls with voices generated by artificial intelligence because it observed an increase in this type of calls.
Last November
it sought public comment on the issue
, and in January, a bipartisan group of 26 state attorneys general wrote to the FCC urging it to move forward with a resolution.
Sophisticated generative AI tools, from voice cloning programs to image generators, are already being used in elections in the United States and around the world.