FCC makes AI-generated voices in robocalls illegal

New rule aims to give voters extra protection from fraud

NEW YORK — The Federal Communications Commission has outlawed robocalls that contain voices generated by artificial intelligence, a decision that sends a clear message that exploiting the technology to scam people and mislead voters won’t be tolerated.

The unanimous ruling Thursday targets robocalls made with AI voice-cloning tools under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, a 1991 law restricting junk calls that use artificial and prerecorded voice messages.

The announcement comes as New Hampshire authorities are advancing their probe of AI-generated robocalls that mimicked President Joe Biden’s voice to discourage people from voting in the state’s first-in-the-nation primary last month.

Effective immediately, the regulation empowers the FCC to fine companies that use AI voices in their calls or block the service providers that carry them. It also opens the door for call recipients to sue — and potentially recover up to $1,500 in damages for each unwanted call — and gives state attorneys general a new mechanism to crack down on violators.

The agency’s chairwoman, 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 far-off future, but this threat is already here,” Rosenworcel told The Associated Press on Wednesday as the commission was considering the regulations. “All of us could be on the receiving end of these faked calls, so that’s why we felt the time to act was now.”

Under the consumer protection law, telemarketers generally cannot use automated dialers or artificial or prerecorded voice messages to call cellphones, and they cannot make such calls to landlines without written consent from the call recipient.

The new ruling classifies AI-generated voices in robocalls as “artificial” and thus enforceable by the same standards.

Those who break the law can face steep fines, with a maximum of more than $23,000 a call, the FCC said. The agency has previously used the consumer law to clamp down on robocallers interfering in elections, including imposing a $5 million fine on two conservative hoaxers for falsely warning people in predominantly Black areas that voting by mail could heighten their risk of arrest, debt collection and forced vaccination.

Even with the FCC’s ruling, voters should prepare themselves for personalized spam to target them by phone, text and social media.

“The true dark hats tend to disregard the stakes and they know what they’re doing is unlawful,” said Josh Lawson, director of AI and democracy at the Aspen Institute. “We have to understand that bad actors are going to continue to rattle the cages and push the limits.”

Rep. Yvette Clarke, D-N.Y., who introduced legislation to regulate AI in politics, lauded the FCC for its ruling but said Congress now needs to act.