A company that sent deceptive calls to New Hampshire voters using artificial intelligence to mimic Joe Biden’s voice agreed on Wednesday to pay a $1m fine and bolster its caller identification and authentication features, US regulators said.
Lingo Telecom, the voice service provider that transmitted the robocalls, agreed to the settlement to resolve enforcement action taken by the Federal Communications Commission, which had initially sought a $2m fine.
Meanwhile Steve Kramer, a political consultant who orchestrated the calls, still faces a proposed $6m FCC fine as well as state criminal charges. The case is seen by many as an unsettling early example of how AI might be used to influence groups of voters and democracy as a whole.
The phone messages were sent to thousands of New Hampshire voters on 21 January. They featured a voice similar to Biden’s falsely suggesting that voting in the state’s presidential primary would preclude them from casting ballots in the November general election.
The FCC said that as well as agreeing to the civil fine, Lingo Telecom had agreed to strict caller ID authentication rules and requirements and to more thoroughly verify the accuracy of the information provided by its customers and upstream providers.
“Every one of us deserves to know that the voice on the line is exactly who they claim to be,”said Jessica Rosenworcel, the FCC chair, in a statement. “If AI is being used, that should be made clear to any consumer, citizen and voter who encounters it. The FCC will act when trust in our communications networks is on the line.”
Lingo Telecom did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The company had earlier said it strongly disagreed with the FCC’s action, calling it an attempt to impose new rules retroactively.
Kramer, who paid a magician and self-described “digital nomad” to create the recording, said earlier this year that he wasn’t trying to influence the outcome of the primary, but rather wanted to highlight the potential dangers of AI and spur lawmakers into action.
If found guilty, Kramer could face a prison sentence of up to seven years on a charge of voter suppression and a sentence of up to one year on a charge of impersonating a candidate.
The non-profit consumer advocacy group Public Citizen commended the FCC on its action. Robert Weissman, the group’s co-president, said Rosenworcel got it “exactly right” by saying consumers have a right to know when they are receiving authentic content and when they are receiving AI-generated deepfakes. Weissman said the case illustrates how such deepfakes pose “an existential threat to our democracy”.
Loyaan Egal, the FCC enforcement bureau chief, said the combination of caller ID spoofing and generative AI voice-cloning technology posed a significant threat “whether at the hands of domestic operatives seeking political advantage or sophisticated foreign adversaries conducting malign influence or election interference activities”.
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