The FCC issued a Declaratory Ruling regarding AI Generated Robocalls
On February 8, 2024, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) announced the adoption of a Declaratory Ruling that confirms the prohibition on using “artificial or prerecorded voice” to make robocalls and robotexts without prior express consent of the receiving party which includes AI technologies that generate human voices, such as voice cloning.
The FCC issued this ruling to prevent fraudsters from using AI to prey on consumers as they are working to address harmful uses of AI technology and ensure that the benefits of AI are harnessed to protect consumers from harm rather than amplify the risks they face in an increasingly digital landscape.
In November of 2023, the FCC announced a Notice of Inquiry to begin the process to better understand the implications of emerging AI technologies as part of their ongoing efforts to protect consumers from unwanted and illegal telephone calls and text messages under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”). They are working to understand how AI technologies, such as voice cloning, are being used in robocalling and robotexting and how they can be regulated and address harmful uses of AI technology.
The ruling confirms that the TCPA’s prohibition on using “artificial or prerecorded voice” to make robocalls and robotexts without prior express consent of the receiving party includes AI technologies that generate human voices, such as voice cloning. The ruling is particularly important to prevent fraudsters from using AI to prey on consumers.
To comply with the new Declaratory Ruling, business must ensure that you do not use AI technologies that generate human voices, such as voice cloning, in robocalls and robotexts without prior express consent of the receiving party.
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This article is for information purposes only. It is not intended to be and should not be relied on as legal advice for any particular matter.