The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has taken additional steps towards regulating AI-generated communications. In a recent Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) and Notice of Inquiry (NOI), the FCC targets robocalls, automated texting, and political advertising that utilize artificial intelligence.
What is an AI-Generated Call?
The FCC defines an “AI-generated call” as “a call that uses any technology or tool to generate an artificial or prerecorded voice or a 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.”
Proposed Requirements for Businesses
If the proposed rules are approved, businesses will need to adhere to the following guidelines:
- Consent for AI-Generated Calls: Callers using AI-generated or prerecorded voice must include clear and conspicuous disclosure that the consumer’s consent to receive artificial and prerecorded calls may include consent to receive AI-generated calls.
- Consent for AI-Generated Messages: Callers utilizing autodialed text messages that include AI-generated content must provide clear and conspicuous disclosure that the consumer’s consent to receive such messages may include consent to receive AI-generated content.
- Disclosure of AI-Generated Voice: At the beginning of each call, callers using AI-generated voice must clearly disclose to the called party that such call is using AI-generated technology.
The proposed rules would exempt artificial or prerecorded voice calls made by individuals with speech or hearing disabilities using AI technologies designed to facilitate communication over the phone.
Interested parties may submit comments on the NPRM on or before 30 days following its publication in the Federal Register. M&S will continue to monitor this and other FCC activity and provide updates as information becomes available.
* Tori Geller contributed to this article.
Michele is the Managing Partner at M&S and former Chief of the Ohio Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Section. Bringing more than two decades of experience in the consumer protection arena, she advises highly regulated businesses on a wide range of telemarketing, privacy, and other consumer protection matters.