Voice service provider Lingo Telecom was fined $1 million by the FCC on Wednesday for its part in making the robocall to voters in the Granite State. The call’s goal was to get people not to go to the polls.
Under the terms of the deal, the FCC said the company would also have to follow their set of rules for caller ID authentication and make sure that the information they give to customers is correct more often. The agency said that the deal was the “first of its kind secured by the FCC.”
“We all deserve to know that the person on the other end of the line is who they say they are,” FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said in a statement. “If AI is being used, it should be clear to every customer, citizen, and voter who sees it.”
A lot of voters in New Hampshire got a call two days before the primary election from someone who sounded like Joe Biden telling them to save their vote for November. Biden wasn’t on the ballot in New Hampshire because he had a disagreement with the DNC over moving the party’s primary date.
The New Hampshire Attorney General, John Formella, quickly told people to ignore the message, but it made people even more worried about how AI might affect future elections. These worries have recently grown stronger as Washington has paid more attention to AI.
“The possible misuse of generative AI voice-cloning technology and caller ID spoofing over the U.S. communications network presents a significant threat,” Enforcement Bureau Chief Loyaan Egal said in the FCC’s press release about Wednesday’s settlement. “This could happen by domestic agents seeking political advantage or by sophisticated foreign adversaries conducting activities of malign influence or election interference.”
“This settlement makes it clear that communications service providers are the first line of defense against these threats, and they will be held responsible for doing their part to protect the American people,” Egal said.
Early this week, U.S. officials said they think Iran was trying to hack into the campaigns of former President Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris.
It was political adviser Steve Kramer who made the robocall in New Hampshire. The FCC said he did this to “interfere” in the state’s primary election. Kramer, on the other hand, said that his goal was to show how dangerous AI can be in elections. He could be fined $6 million by the FCC and is being charged with crimes in his home state for the move.
