FCC weighs allowing AI-generated political robocalls ahead of midterm elections
10 Sources
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The FCC might let political groups send you more AI robocalls.
It banned AI robocalls in 2024, but the Associated Press reports Brendan Carr's FCC is considering a waiver that would allow political calls "using an artificial or prerecorded voice -- including an AI-generated voice -- without obtaining prior express consent." If the waiver's granted, it could
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Conservative anti-tax group seeks FCC approval for AI robocalls ahead of US midterms
WASHINGTON, Oct 7 (Reuters) - A Democratic member of the Federal Communications Commission urged the agency on Wednesday not to approve a petition to allow political AI-generated robocalls from conservative political group Club for Growth. The group, which is spending millions of dollars ahead of
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FCC considers allowing more political robocalls before midterms, including those created with AI
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Federal Communications Commission is considering a request by a conservative group to loosen rules on political robocalls, including those with artificial intelligence-generated voices, before November's midterm elections. Federal law currently bans most robocalls to
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AI-generated political robocalls could flood your phone if FCC green-lights petition
One Commissioner warns this could hit people with a "a tsunami of robocalls." How much do you love the FCC under the current administration? When the agency's not banning our favorite robot vacuums, or drones, or the routers we need to get online, it's thinking about spam calls. Normally, we'd
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FCC considers loosening rules on political robocalls with AI voices before midterms
Federal law currently bans most robocalls to cellphones unless the caller gets consent beforehand. The Federal Communications Commission is considering a request by a conservative group to loosen rules on political robocalls, including those with artificial intelligence-generated voices, before
[6]
US Agency Considers Allowing New AI Political Robocalls Before Election
WASHINGTON, Oct 7 (Reuters) - A Democratic member of the Federal Communications Commission urged the agency on Wednesday not to approve a petition to allow political AI-generated robocalls from conservative political group Club for Growth. The group, which is spending millions of dollars
[7]
FCC Considers Allowing More Political Robocalls Before Midterms, Including Those Created With AI
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Federal Communications Commission is considering a request by a conservative group to loosen rules on political robocalls, including those with artificial intelligence-generated voices, before November's midterm elections. Federal law currently bans most robocalls to
[8]
FCC Considers Allowing More Political Robocalls Before Midterms, Including Those Created With AI
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Federal Communications Commission is considering a request by a conservative group to loosen rules on political robocalls, including those with artificial intelligence-generated voices, before November's midterm elections. Federal law currently bans most robocalls to
[9]
AI Voices in US Elections? FCC Considers Political Robocall Request
The US Federal Communications Commission is considering a request that could allow political groups to make AI-generated robocalls to voters' mobile phones without obtaining prior consent, raising concerns about misinformation and unwanted calls ahead of the November congressional elections. The
[10]
US agency considers allowing new AI political robocalls before election
WASHINGTON, Oct 7 (Reuters) - A Democratic member of the Federal Communications Commission urged the agency on Wednesday not to approve a petition to allow political AI-generated robocalls from conservative political group Club for Growth. The group, which is spending millions of dollars ahead of
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The Federal Communications Commission is reviewing a petition from conservative group Club for Growth to loosen rules on political robocalls, including AI-generated voices, before November's midterm elections. The waiver would allow unsolicited calls without prior consent, sparking warnings from Commissioner Anna Gomez about potential misinformation and voter manipulation.
FCC Reviews Controversial Waiver for Political Groups
The Federal Communications Commission is considering a petition that could dramatically alter how political campaigns contact voters ahead of the midterm elections. Conservative organization Club for Growth has requested a waiver to allow political calls using artificial or prerecorded voices—including AI-generated voices—without obtaining prior express consent from recipients
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. The Republican-led FCC advanced the request for public comment and could rule on it as soon as late October, just weeks before voters head to the polls3
.Federal law currently bans most robocalls to cellphones unless the caller gets consent beforehand under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act
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. The proposed waiver for political groups would create an exception to this longstanding protection. Club for Growth, which plans to spend $175 million in the midterm congressional elections, argues the FCC should treat First Amendment-protected political speech the same way it already treats wireless calls about package deliveries, bank accounts, and doctor's appointments2
.Commissioner Warns of Misinformation Tsunami
FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez, the sole Democrat among the agency's three active commissioners, strongly opposes the petition. She warned that approving the waiver would create "a tsunami of robocalls and misinformation" targeting American voters
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. Gomez stated that if the FCC allows "a dark money group to flood Americans' phones with AI-generated robocalls they never agreed to receive, it would bring chaos so close to Election Day"2
.The commissioner emphasized that consumers reasonably expect rules protecting them from unwanted robocalls to hold steady while they decide how to vote, not for the FCC to change them at the eleventh hour to unleash political messaging on their phones
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. Consumer advocacy groups echo these concerns, warning the proposed change could trigger a surge of unwanted, partisan and potentially misleading automated calls in the critical final days of the election3
.Recent History Highlights AI Robocall Dangers
The potential perils of AI-generated political robocalls became evident during the 2024 presidential primary season when thousands of voters in New Hampshire received a robocall with an AI-generated voice mimicking then-President Joe Biden
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. The call suggested voters should forgo casting a ballot in the primary and "save" their votes for the general election. Shortly after this incident caught authorities' attention, the FCC ruled that robocalls made with AI voice-cloning tools were outlawed under consumer protection laws3
.In 2020, tens of thousands of prospective voters in majority-Black areas received robocalls falsely warning that voting by mail could lead to arrest and debt collection—a clear case of voter suppression
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. The two conservative hoaxers behind those calls were criminally charged and fined $5.1 million for violating the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.Related Stories
Technical Loophole and Industry Pushback
Club for Growth argues its system shouldn't be classified as traditional robocalls because a human initiates the dial to a cellphone before an AI agent handles the interview
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. However, the FCC's description of the petition notes the system "uses a perfunctory human being for the sole purpose of clicking on a 'send' or similarly termed button to transmit thousands of text messages per hour"2
.Public interest groups including the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, Consumer Federation of America, Common Cause and Public Citizen filed comments urging the FCC to reject the petition
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. Their joint statement noted that "using robocalls, a hated form of communication, to deliver political messages, a sensitive topic almost nobody wants to hear about from AI-generated strangers, will enrage a wide swath of the 98% of the country that has a cellphone."What's at Stake for Voters
Tim Harper, who leads the elections team at the Washington-based Center for Democracy and Technology, warned that granting the waiver close to Election Day would open "a huge opportunity for abuse during a period where harm has outsized impact"
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. He predicts campaigns will use this technology to target voters in deceptive ways. While some state and federal laws protecting against deception and voter intimidation would continue to prohibit certain misleading election-related messages, granting the waiver could weaken a major deterrent for bad actors3
.If approved, political groups could deploy AI to prerecord messages that play when voters answer their phones, or use large language models to engage in live conversations with voters
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. The FCC itself has previously warned that AI robocalls "contain an enhanced risk of fraud and other scams"4
. The FCC is accepting public comment on the petition through October 19, with FCC Chair Brendan Carr's office declining immediate comment on the matter2
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