The chairman of the FCC is asking telecom companies to prove they’re actually working to stop political robocalls created by AI.FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel has reportedly drafted a series of letters to nine major telecom companies asking what steps they’re taking to prevent fraudulent robocalls, specifically those that use artificial intelligence for political purposes.The move is in response to a fraudulent robocall campaign that used AI to recreate the voice of President Biden to target voters in New Hampshire earlier this year. After the incident, the FCC issued a Declaratory Ruling that noted that “artificial or prerecorded voice” robocalls that use AI voice cloning technology violate the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.49 State Attorneys General have also signed a Memorandum of Understanding to work with the FCC on junk robocalls. “This is just the beginning. We know that AI technologies will make it cheap and easy to flood our networks with deepfakes used to mislead and betray trust,” wrote Rosenworcel. “It is especially chilling to see AI voice cloning used to impersonate candidates during elections. As AI tools become more accessible to bad actors and scammers, we need to do everything we can to keep this junk off our networks.”
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AI robocalls were banned in February of this year; however, no companies have specifically announced or detailed any enforcement plans. State Attorneys can prosecute anyone involved in the creation or distribution of a robocall.The news comes just a few weeks after Rosenworcel made another move cell phone users might be happy about: she proposed rules that would require cellular providers “to unlock customers’ mobile phones within 60 days of activation.”
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