The FCC, in partnership with the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office, issued a separate cease-and-desist order against Life Corporation, a Texas company that allegedly made robocalls. New Hampshire authorities have accused Life of violating the state’s voter suppression laws and have identified Walter Monk as the originator of the calls. Monk and Life did not respond to requests for comment.
New Hampshire officials said Ringo suspended its services to Life after receiving reports of the investigation.
“The FCC’s partnership and swift action on this issue will ensure that law enforcement and regulators remain vigilant and monitor and investigate signs that AI is being used maliciously to threaten our nation’s democratic processes. It sends a clear message that we are working closely with the New Hampshire Attorney General. John Formella said in his statement:
Ringo Telecom said in a statement to POLITICO that it took swift action to assist investigators.
“Upon receiving an investigation into this matter, Ringo took immediate action by conducting an investigation of the call in question in support of the efforts of the Anti-Robocall Litigation Task Force,” Ringo said. “On the same day we were contacted by the task force, we quickly identified and terminated the accounts involved and continue to work with federal and state law enforcement authorities to resolve this matter. We remain committed to complying with all regulatory obligations and maintaining the highest standards of customer care.”
FCC officials also asked other carriers to be on the lookout for suspicious phone traffic from Lingo and said they could begin blocking calls from Lingo once they notify authorities of their decision. . The commission said it could order other providers to block Lingo’s traffic if illegal robocalls continue.
Enforcement officials noted that both Apple and Life have been accused of robocalling violations in the past.
Enforcement officials said they are increasingly concerned about how AI technology could be used to interfere in elections.
“The increasing reliance on AI-generated audio to deceive the public, including as part of election disinformation campaigns, is rapidly becoming a serious problem,” FCC Enforcement Director Royan Egal said in a statement. “There is,” he said. “We will leverage every tool available to us to ensure that America’s communications networks are not used to facilitate the harmful misuse of AI technology.”
New Hampshire households began receiving robocalls on January 21, two days before the primary election. The call included a synthetic voice recording of Biden urging voters to stay home and save their votes for November’s presidential election.
The impersonation of Biden’s voice conveyed the following message: “Republicans have encouraged independent, Democratic voters to participate in primaries. What a load of malarkey. We know the value of voting democratically when our votes matter. It’s important to save your vote for the November election. …Only by voting this Tuesday can the Republican Party aim to re-elect Donald Trump. Instead, we will make a difference in November.”
