FCC Proposal to Allow Unconsented AI Political Calls

The FCC has not yet commented on whether callers would have to disclose the use of AI, though current regulations only require identification of the responsible organization and a contact number, not a statement that the voice is synthetic.

Newsweek

Democratic FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez warned that exempting political calls from consent requirements would “supercharge” a strategy already used by dark-money groups to attach AI-generated likenesses to inflammatory comments. The National Consumer Law Center opposed the petition, noting that the proposal would allow up to three calls per recipient within 30 days and permit callers up to 10 days to honor stop requests, potentially leaving voters with calls close to Election Day. The Center also highlighted a recent incident in which New Hampshire voters received a cloned voice of former President Joe Biden urging them not to vote in a primary; the FCC later levied a $6 million fine for illegal caller-ID spoofing in that case.

Newsweek

• “We’ve already seen dark money groups use AI to put candidates' likeness behind inflammatory comments ahead of this election,” — Anna Gomez, democratic FCC commissioner

Newsweek

The FCC will consider the public comments received by October 19 and decide whether to amend the consent rules before the November 3 election. The agency has indicated that any final rule could retain the three-call limit and opt-out provisions, but it has not confirmed whether an explicit AI-disclosure requirement will be adopted. Stakeholders, including political organizations and consumer-rights groups, await the outcome, which could reshape how AI technology is used in electoral outreach.

Newsweek