FCC chair asks telecoms to detail efforts to block fraudulent AI political robocalls
Adds industry reaction in paragraphs 8-10
By David Shepardson
June 27 (Reuters) -The chair of the Federal Communications Commission asked AT&T T.N, Verizon VZ.N, Comcast CMCSA.O and other cable and telecom carriers to detail efforts to crack down on fraudulent political robocalls that are generated by AI, the agency said Thursday.
Last month Steven Kramer, a Louisiana Democratic political consultant, was indicted over a fake robocall imitating U.S. President Joe Biden seeking to dissuade people from voting for him in New Hampshire's Democratic primary election.
The FCC in May proposed to fine Kramer $6 million over the robocalls it said used an AI-generated deepfake audio recording of Biden’s cloned voice, saying its rules prohibit transmission of inaccurate caller ID information. Kramer has pleaded not guilty.
The FCC also proposed to fine Lingo Telecom $2 million for allegedly transmitting the robocalls.
"We know that AI technologies will make it cheap and easy to flood our networks with deepfakes used to mislead and betray trust," FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel wrote to the companies in a letter first reported by Reuters. "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 network."
There is growing concern in Washington that AI-generated content could mislead voters in the November presidential and congressional elections. Some senators want to pass legislation before November that would address AI threats to election integrity.
Rosenworcel asked the carriers -- including T-Mobile TMUS.O, DISH Network DISH.MX, Charter Communications CHTR.O, Cox and Frontier -- to answer questions by July 15, including whether they have dedicated human or technological resources to identify generative AI voices, and what other steps the companies have taken to address unauthorized AI messaging campaigns during elections.
Charter Communications said it has long taken an aggressive approach to addressing robocalls.
"We'll continue working alongside the FCC and our industry partners to protect our customers as this risk continues to evolve," the company said.
The other carriers declined to comment or referred questions to industry trade group USTelecom.
"When it comes to fighting scams and spam calls, our partnership with the FCC is rock-solid," the group's CEO Jonathan Spalter said. "America’s communications providers are all in on putting an end to illegal robocalls and going after any AI-based scam calls that hit consumers."
Rosenworcel separately has proposed the FCC require broadcast radio and television political advertisements to disclose whether content is generated by AI.
Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Rod Nickel
Activos relacionados
Últimas noticias
Descargo de responsabilidades: Cada una de las entidades de XM Group proporciona un servicio de solo ejecución y acceso a nuestra plataforma de trading online, permitiendo a una persona ver o usar el contenido disponible en o a través del sitio web, sin intención de cambiarlo ni ampliarlo. Dicho acceso y uso están sujetos en todo momento a: (i) Términos y Condiciones; (ii) Advertencias de riesgo; y (iii) Descargo completo de responsabilidades. Por lo tanto, dicho contenido se proporciona exclusivamente como información general. En particular, por favor tenga en cuenta que, los contenidos de nuestra plataforma de trading online no son ni solicitud ni una oferta para entrar a realizar transacciones en los mercados financieros. Operar en cualquier mercado financiero implica un nivel de riesgo significativo para su capital.
Todo el material publicado en nuestra plataforma de trading online tiene únicamente fines educativos/informativos y no contiene –y no debe considerarse que contenga– asesoramiento ni recomendaciones financieras, tributarias o de inversión, ni un registro de nuestros precios de trading, ni una oferta ni solicitud de transacción con instrumentos financieros ni promociones financieras no solicitadas.
Cualquier contenido de terceros, así como el contenido preparado por XM, como por ejemplo opiniones, noticias, investigaciones, análisis, precios, otras informaciones o enlaces a sitios de terceros que figuran en este sitio web se proporcionan “tal cual”, como comentarios generales del mercado y no constituyen un asesoramiento en materia de inversión. En la medida en que cualquier contenido se interprete como investigación de inversión, usted debe tener en cuenta y aceptar que dicho contenido no fue concebido ni elaborado de acuerdo con los requisitos legales diseñados para promover la independencia en materia de investigación de inversiones y, por tanto, se considera como una comunicación comercial en virtud de las leyes y regulaciones pertinentes. Por favor, asegúrese de haber leído y comprendido nuestro Aviso sobre investigación de inversión no independiente y advertencia de riesgo en relación con la información anterior, al que se puede acceder aquí.
