BREAKING: FCC Immediately Bans Robocalls Using AI-Cloned Voices

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https://therecord.media/ai-voice-cloning-robocalls-banned-fcc

IMAGE: GEORGE CHANDRINOS VIA UNSPLASH
Suzanne Smalley
February 8th, 2024

FCC bans AI-generated voice cloning in robocalls

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) revealed Thursday that it
had unanimously agreed to make AI-generated voice cloning in robocalls
illegal, a warning shot to scammers not to use the cutting-edge
technology for fraud or to spread election-related disinformation.

The agency said that beginning Thursday it will rely on the 1991
Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) — which bars robocalls using
pre-recorded and artificial voice messages — to target voice-cloning
calls by establishing a so-called Declaratory Ruling within the TCPA.

The decision follows an AI-generated voice robocall mimicking
President Joe Biden and telling voters not to turn out in the New
Hampshire primary, alarming election security officials nationwide.

The New Hampshire Attorney General identified a Texas man and his
company Life Corporation as the creator of the calls on Tuesday.
Officials believe more than 20,000 New Hampshire residents received
the calls.

“This will make it easier for state attorneys general in particular to
go after these scammers,” said Harold Feld, senior vice president at
the advocacy group Public Knowledge and an expert on the FCC. “While
it seems fairly straightforward that an AI generated voice is
‘artificial,’ there is always the worry that a judge will not want to
apply a statute written in 1991 to something new in 2024.”

“But because Congress delegated the authority to interpret the statute
to the FCC, the FCC can render this common sense ruling and remove any
doubt,” Feld added.

The FCC’s action will give state attorneys general nationwide a new
lever to use when pursuing and ultimately charging people behind junk
calls, FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said in a statement.

The deployment of AI generated voice-cloning robocalls has “escalated”
in the last few years, the FCC said in a press release, noting that in
November it started a “Notice of Inquiry” to “build a record on how
the agency can combat illegal robocalls and how AI might be involved.”

During that inquiry, the agency investigated how AI can be used for
robocall scams by mimicking voices known to recipients, but also
looked into how AI might bolster pattern recognition, allowing
authorities to more easily recognize illegal robocalls. The TCPA
provides the FCC with the ability to fine robocallers through civil
enforcement actions. It also allows consumer lawsuits, enables
carriers to block the calls, and hands state officials a new tool for
enforcement.

More than 26 state attorneys general recently wrote to the FCC
expressing support for the new rule, the press release said.

On Wednesday, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo made new appointments
to a National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) institute
dedicated to coming up with science-based guidelines for AI, and on
Thursday the agency announced the creation of a consortium of some 200
companies and organizations within the industry to support "the
development and deployment of safe and trustworthy artificial
intelligence."

The forthcoming U.S. Artificial Intelligence Safety Institute will be
charged with “laying the foundation for AI safety across the world,”
according to an update posted on NIST’s website. “This will help ready
the U.S. to address the capabilities of the next generation of AI
models or systems, from frontier models to new applications and
approaches, with appropriate risk management strategies.”