FCC Proposes New Rules Governing AI Calls

The new frontier of generative artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming less and less like the lawless “wild west” it appeared to be at the beginning of the year.

As detailed in prior articles, after the AI-voiced robocalls impersonating President Joe Biden were sent to New Hampshire residents back in January of 2024, Congress, state legislatures, and state and federal regulators have proposed new laws and regulations in an attempt to control the use of AI in telecommunications.

The latest of these proposals was announced on July 16, 2024, when Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel called for new rules governing AI-generated robocalls.

The proposal calls for an official definition of AI-generated calls, and includes a requirement that callers disclose their use of AI-generated calls, along with technology capable of warning consumers about AI calls and protecting them from illegal and unwanted calls, while at the same time supporting the beneficial application of AI, such as aiding individuals with disabilities.

This announcement is part of a series of AI-focused maneuvers by the FCC that commenced with a Notice of Inquiry into the impact of AI on robocalls and robotexts in November of 2023, which was followed by a Declaratory Ruling in February that brought AI-generated voice calls within the TCPA’s definition of “Artificial Voice.”  Then in May the FCC proposed a whopping $6 million fine against the political operative who masterminded the New Hampshire AI calls in January.

The intent behind this latest proposal is to help ensure that consumers are aware of the nature of the calls they receive, which would hopefully provide them with the opportunity to avoid illegal AI-generated robocalls, which carry a higher risk of fraud or other scams.   The rulemaking process will officially commence at the FCC’s August Open Meeting, when it will consider a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking which, if adopted, will propose the following:

•  To define “AI generated call” as “a call that uses any technology or tool to artificially generate a voice or text using computational technology or other machine learning, including predictive algorithms, and large language models, to process natural language and produce voice or text content to communicate with a called party over an outbound telephone call.”

• To require callers making calls using AI-generated artificial or prerecorded voice messages to include clear and conspicuous disclosure that the consumer’s consent to receive artificial and prerecorded calls may include consent to receive AI-generated calls.
• To require callers making autodialed text messages that include AI-generated content to provide clear and conspicuous disclosure that the consumer’s consent to receive such messages may include consent to receive AI-generated content as defined by the proposal we describe above.
• To require callers using AI-generated voice to, at the beginning of each call, clearly disclose to the called party that the call is using AI-generated technology.
• To exempt from the TCPA’s requirements artificial or prerecorded voice calls made by an individual with a speech or hearing disability using any technology, including AI technologies, designed to facilitate the ability of such individuals to communicate over the telephone.
• Seek comment on the development and availability of technologies on either the device or network level that can detect incoming calls that are potentially fraudulent and/or use AI- generated voice based on real time analysis of call content, alert consumers to the potential that such calls are fraudulent or AI-generated, and potentially block future calls that can be identified as similar based on analytics.
• Seek comments on the privacy implications of real-time content-based call detection, alerting, and blocking technologies and whether the Commission should consider requirements to protect the privacy of called parties and callers, and, if so, what they should be.

While regulation of AI is inevitable and necessary to curb its potential harm, the FCC clearly recognizes that the technology can also have positive impacts on people’s lives.  As more and more companies embrace the use of AI in telecommunications, they need to keep a careful eye on these and other proposed regulations and plan accordingly.