FCC bans AI-generated voices used to cheat voters, parents

(CN) — The Federal Communication Commission announced Thursday that phone calls with AI-generated voices, such as those of celebrities, politicians or loved ones, will be deemed illegal under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, opening the door to civil enforcement actions against perpetrators of these robocall scams.

The rule comes as the use of AI-generated cloned voices in robocalls and other schemes has become more and more prevalent. Just last month, potential primary voters in New Hampshire got a call, purportedly from President Joe Biden, telling them to stay home and “save your vote” by skipping the state’s primary. The cloned voice on the call sounded just like Biden.

In other cases, parents have received calls where the voice of their child was cloned as part of a fake kidnapping scheme. And the already widespread attempts to trick elderly people in sending money to a “grandchild” in trouble can be become more effective with the use of voice cloning through the use of artificial intelligence.

“Artificial Intelligence-generated voice cloning and image creating tools are now more accessible and more likely to be used for fraud,” FCC chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said in a statement. “This technology can confuse us when we listen, view and click, because it can trick us into thinking all kinds of fake stuff is legitimate. Already we see this happening with Tom Hanks hawking dental plans online, a vile video featuring Taylor Swift, and calls from candidates for political office that are designed to confuse us about where and when to vote.”

The FCC rule means that, effective immediately, calls made with AI-generated voices are considered “artificial” under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. This, the commission said, gives state attorneys general across the country new tools to go after bad actors behind these nefarious robocalls.

The act restricts telemarketing calls and the use of automatic telephone dialing systems and artificial or prerecorded voice messages. It also requires telemarketers to obtain prior express written consent from consumers before robocalling them. Thursday’s rule confirms that the use of AI-generated voices also falls under these restrictions.

“Thank you, FCC, for today’s desperately needed rule outlawing AI voice-generated robocalls," Robert Weissman, president of Public Citizen, a consumer rights advocacy group. “This rule will meaningfully protect consumers from rapidly spreading AI scams and deception. Every agency should follow suit and apply the tools and laws at their disposal to regulate AI.”

Weissman noted, however, that the act applies only in limited measure to election-related calls. The statute’s prohibition on use of ‘an artificial or prerecorded voice’ generally does not apply to noncommercial calls and nonprofits, he said, and the FCC’s new rule will not cure the problem of AI voice-generated calls related to elections.

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