Policy Backgrounders

FCC Ruling on AI-Generated Robocalls

February 16, 2024

Trusted Insights for What’s Ahead™:

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) unanimously issued a Declarative Ruling last week on AI-generated robocalls. The decision classifies AI-generated voices in robocalls under the same standards as the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) of 1991, effectively making them illegal without prior customer consent. The Ruling comes just several weeks after a robocall impersonating the voice of the President told voters not to vote in the New Hampshire primary election.

• The proliferation of generative AI technologies gives users the ability to develop deepfakes – realistic yet fabricated audio, video, and images – making it easier than ever for bad actors to spread disinformation.
• Last month, a robocall went out to 5,000-25,000 individuals telling them not to vote in the New Hampshire presidential primary. The call featured the supposed voice of the President urging Democrats to withhold their vote until November.
• The Ruling applies to all “current AI technologies that generate human voices.” As a result, these AI-generated calls will “require the prior express consent of the called party to initiate such calls absent an emergency purpose or exemption.”
• The FCC is not the first agency to take steps to protect the public from harmful uses of generative AI technologies. The Federal Election Commission (FEC) in August began a process to potentially regulate AI-generated deepfakes in political ads, and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently finished accepting submissions for its effort to encourage products, policies, and procedures aimed at protecting consumers from AI-enabled voice cloning harms.