The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday decided to impose a $6 million fine on a political consultant who placed fake automated calls impersonating President Biden's voice urging New Hampshire voters not to vote in the state's Democratic primary.
In May, Stephen Cramer, a Louisiana Democratic political consultant, was indicted in New Hampshire for making calls that appeared to involve Biden urging people not to vote until November. Cramer worked for Biden's primary opponent, Rep. Dean Phillips, who condemned the calls.
Cramer told media in January that he had paid $500 to call voters to warn them about the dangers of artificial intelligence in election campaigns.
The FCC said the calls were made using deepfake audio recordings generated by AI to resemble Biden's voice.
FCC rules prohibit the transmission of inaccurate caller ID information. The commission said Cramer must pay the fine within 30 days or face collection from the Department of Justice.
Kramer and his spokesman could not immediately be reached.
“It's now cheap and easy to use artificial intelligence to replicate voices and broadcast fake audio and images at scale,” FCC Chairman Jessica Rosenworcel said. “By illegally appropriating likenesses of people we know, this technology could allow for illegal interference in our elections. We must call it out when we see it and do everything we can to stop this fraud.”
In August, after the FCC said Ringo Telecom had sent fake robocalls in New Hampshire, the company agreed to pay a $1 million fine.
The FCC said that under the settlement, Lingo will implement a compliance plan that will require strict compliance with the FCC's caller ID authentication rules.
The committee voted in July on a proposal that would require political ads broadcast on radio and television to disclose whether their content was generated by AI. The proposal is still pending.
