“Malicious actors are using AI-generated voices in unsolicited robocalls to extort vulnerable family members, impersonate celebrities, and misinform voters,” the chairwoman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Jessica Rosenworcel, justified in a statement.
This new phenomenon drew attention last month when it emerged that an automated phone call with a voice posing as US President Joe Biden urged people not to vote in the Democratic primaries held in the state of New Hampshire.
The FCC unanimously ruled that AI-generated voices are “artificial” and therefore violate the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).
The ruling declares voice cloning used in robocall scams illegal, allowing those behind such operations to be prosecuted, the entity said.
The “garbage calls”
The TCPA is the primary law the FCC uses to curb so-called “junk calls.”
“State Attorneys General will now have new tools to combat these frauds,” said Rosenworcel.
Previously, law enforcement agencies could prosecute people for the results of scams such as fraud committed with the help of robocalls, but not for the calls themselves, regulators said.
The prevalence of these types of calls has skyrocketed in recent years with the help of automated calling systems, some of which even camouflage the originating phone numbers to appear to be from someone local.
A coalition of 26 state attorneys general was among those urging the FCC to restrict the use of AI-generated voices in telemarketing calls.
“Technology advances and expands, seemingly minute by minute, and we must ensure that these new developments are not used to exploit, deceive or manipulate consumers,” Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry said in a letter from the group. submitted to the FCC in January.
Source: With information from AFP
