Political Consultant Fined $6 Million for AI-Generated Biden Robocalls

FCC Hits Consultant Behind Biden Robocalls With $6 Million Fine

The FCC has fined a political consultant $6 million for orchestrating the robocalls that urged Democrats not to vote in the New Hampshire primaries earlier this year. The calls, which appeared to come from President Biden, told people: "Your vote makes a difference in November, not this Tuesday." Steve Kramer, a political consultant who worked for Rep. Dean Phillips' presidential campaign, used AI-generated voice-cloning tech and caller ID spoofing to spread election misinformation. This violates the Truth in Caller ID Act, and Kramer must pay the issued fine within 30 days, the FCC says. If he fails to do so, the matter will be handed over to the US Justice Department. "It is now cheap and easy to use AI to clone voices and flood us with fake sounds and images. By unlawfully appropriating the likeness of someone we know, this technology can illegally interfere with elections," says FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel. "If you flood our phones with this junk, we will find you, and you will pay." Kramer is also facing 26 criminal charges in New Hampshire. Last month, the FCC also fined Lingo Telecom $1 million for distributing the fake Biden robocalls. The agency is also working to require companies and campaigns to disclose the use of AI in their calls and political ads.

Political consultant fined $6M for using AI to fake Biden's voice in...

The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday finalized a $6 million fine for a political consultant over fake robocalls that mimicked President Biden's voice, urging New Hampshire voters not to vote in that state's Democratic primary. In May, Steven Kramer, a Louisiana Democratic political consultant, was indicted in New Hampshire over calls that appeared to have Biden asking residents not to vote until November. Kramer had worked for Biden's primary challenger, Rep. Dean Phillips, who denounced the calls. In January, Kramer told media outlets he paid $500 to have the calls sent to voters to raise attention to the danger of artificial intelligence in campaigns. The FCC said the calls were generated using an AI-generated deepfake audio recording meant to sound like Biden's voice. FCC rules prohibit transmission of inaccurate caller ID information. The commission said Kramer will be required to pay the fine within 30 days or the matter will be referred to the Justice Department for collection. Kramer or a spokesperson could not immediately be reached. "It is now cheap and easy to use Artificial Intelligence to clone voices and flood us with fake sounds and images," FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel said. "By unlawfully appropriating the likeness of someone we know, this technology can illegally interfere with elections. We need to call it out when we see it and use every tool at our disposal to stop this fraud." In August, Lingo Telecom agreed to pay a $1 million fine after the FCC said it transmitted the New Hampshire fake robocalls. The FCC said Lingo under the settlement will implement a compliance plan requiring strict adherence to FCC caller ID authentication rules. The commission in July voted to propose requiring broadcast radio and television political advertisements to disclose whether content is generated by AI. That proposal is still pending.

FCC fines political consultant $6 million for deepfake robocalls

Steven Kramer used voice cloning AI to make robocalls sound like President Biden. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has officially issued its full recommended fine against political consultant Steve Kramer for a series of illegal robocalls using deepfake AI technology and caller ID spoofing during the New Hampshire primaries. Kramer must pay $6 million in fines in the next 30 days or the Department of Justice will handle collection, according to . Kramer violated the passed in 2009 that prohibits anyone from "knowingly transmit misleading or inaccurate caller identification information with the intent to defraud, cause harm or wrongfully obtain anything of value," according to legislative records. The law preceded the widespread usage of AI, but the FCC voted to have it apply to such deepfakes this past February. The phony robocalls delivered pre-recorded audio of President Biden's voice using deepfake AI technology to New Hampshire residents leading up to the 2024 presidential primary election. The phony President Biden told voters not to vote in the upcoming primary saying "Your vote makes a difference in November, not this Tuesday," according to an earlier report from . The robocalls were spoofed so as to appear to originate from the former chairwoman of the New Hampshire Democratic Party, according to the . Kramer hired New Orleans magician (no, really, an actual magician) Paul Carpenter to make the phony recordings. Carpenter showed how he made the deepfake audio files of President Biden using an AI voice generator called ElevenLabs. The recordings, he claims, only took around 20 minutes to make. Carpenter says Kramer paid him through Venmo and he thought the work he was doing was authorized by President Biden's campaign. Eleven Labs has since shut down Carpenter's account. Kramer claims he sent the robocalls to raise awareness about the dangers and misuse of the technology. His apparent experiment only cost him $500 but, according to the political consultant, resulted in a massive return. "For me to do that and get $5 million worth of exposure, not for me," Kramer told CBS New York. "I kept myself anonymous so the regulations could just play themselves out or begin to play themselves out. I don't need to be famous. That's not my intention. My intention was to make a difference." Kramer doesn't just face a hefty FCC fine, he's also facing criminal charges. announced last May that Kramer received 13 felony counts of voter suppression and 13 misdemeanor counts of impersonation of a candidate.

Man Behind Biden Deepfake Robocalls Hit With $6 Million Fine

Political consultant Steve Kramer's bungled attempt at voter suppression will now cost him big. The Federal Communications Commission has issued a $6 million fine to the man responsible for blasting New Hampshire voters with robocalls containing a deepfake of President Joe Biden's voice in the days before the state's presidential primary election. Political consultant Steve Kramer, who was working for longshot rival candidate Dean Phillips, admitted to commissioning the calls, which used artificial intelligence to mimic the president's voice encouraging Granite Staters not to vote in the Democratic primary. "Voting this Tuesday only enables the Republicans in their quest to elect Donald Trump again," the fake voice said. "Your vote makes a difference in November, not this Tuesday." The FCC said the robocalls violated the Truth in Caller ID Act, which makes it illegal to spoof another caller with the intent to defraud. Last month, the agency reached a $1 million settlement with Lingo Telecom, the company that allowed the calls to be transmitted over its network. Kramer eventually fessed up to his role in the scheme in an interview with NBC, where he said "I’m not afraid to testify, I know why I did everything. If a House oversight committee wants me to testify, I’m going to demand they put it on TV because I know more than them.†He hasn't been asked to testify, but in addition to the $6 million fine the New Hampshire attorney general's office has also charged him with voter suppression. "The misuse of generative AI technology and spoofing to interfere in elections undermines the foundation of our democracy and poses a significant threat, the full scope of which is yet to be determined," FCC Chief of Enforcement Loyaan Egal, said in a statement. The New Hampshire primary was an odd choice of election on which to run a voter suppression scheme. At the time, Biden, as the sitting president, was the presumptive Democratic nominee, and no one considered Phillips's challenge as posing a threat. The Minnesota congressman would soon drop out of the race and endorse Biden. On top of that, Biden wasn't even on the New Hampshire ballot targeted by the robocalls. He refused to campaign in the state because New Hampshire's Democratic party, which has long prided itself on holding the first primary in the nation each election season, didn't bow from pressure from the national party to reschedule its primary for later in the year. Biden nonetheless won the primary in a write-in campaign. In recent months, the FCC has proposed rules that would further crackdown on AI-generated robocalls and require the disclosure of AI-generated content in political advertisements on TV and radio.

Mastermind behind AI Biden robocalls fined $6m

FCC chair Jessica Rosenworcel warned about using AI tech to interfere with elections, saying: 'We will find you and you will pay'. The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has finalised a $6m fine against political consultant Steve Kramer, the mastermind behind a fake voice recording of US president Joe Biden. Misleading robocalls in January of this year used an AI-generated voice of Biden urging people in New Hampshire not to vote in the primary election on 23 January 2024. A subsequent investigation swiftly identified Texas-based Life Corporation and an individual named Walter Monk as responsible for the calls. However, as further details emerged to reveal that Paul Carpenter, a New Orleans magician, was hired by Kramer, a democratic consultant, to make the imitation voice. Kramer said he did this to raise awareness about the danger of AI in election campaigns. In a statement yesterday (26 September), the FCC said the Truth in Caller ID Act makes spoofed calls illegal when made with the intent to defraud, cause harm, or wrongfully obtain anything of value. "In addition, the FCC recently confirmed that the Telephone Consumer Protection Act's restrictions on calls using an 'artificial or prerecorded voice' apply to calls using AI-generated voices." Loyaan A Egal, chief of the enforcement bureau and chair of the privacy and data protection task force, said the misuse of generative AI technology to interfere with elections "undermines the foundation of our democracy". "Today's significant penalty sends a clear message to bad actors that the abuse of this technology will not be tolerated," he said. FCC chair Jessica Rosenworcel said it is now cheap and easy to use AI to clone voices, which can illegally interfere with elections. "Let me be very clear. If you flood our phones with this junk, we will find you and you will pay." As the US election draws near, deepfakes are a growing concern. In the summer of this year, X owner Elon Musk shared a fake campaign video for US vice-president Kamala Harris, which features an AI-generated version of her voice. And in August, Donald Trump shared multiple fake images on Truth Social, including one showing Taylor Swift with the caption: 'Taylor wants you to vote for Donald Trump'. This prompted the singer-songwriter to set the record straight, saying the simplest way to combat misinformation is with the truth. Don't miss out on the knowledge you need to succeed. Sign up for the Daily Brief, Silicon Republic's digest of need-to-know sci-tech news.

FCC Levies $6 Million Fine Against Biden Robocaller

The US Federal Communications Commission levied a $6 million fine on Steve Kramer, the perpetrator behind thousands of robocalls that mimicked President Joe Biden's voice. Kramer made the calls, using artificial intelligence voice cloning technology and caller ID spoofing, to New Hampshire voters earlier this year encouraging them to sit out the state's primary presidential election.