WASHINGTON, D.C. — The FCC at its September Open Meeting this morning approved in a 4-1 vote a $6 million forfeiture order for political consultant Steve Kramer in response to unlawful robocalls made using “deepfake,” AI-generated voice cloning technology and caller ID spoofing.
Kramer was found to have been behind the effort, which delivered “election misinformation” to potential New Hampshire voters prior to the state’s January primary election.
Kramer is required to pay the fine within 30 days. If not, “the matter will be promptly referred to the U.S. Department of Justice for collection,” the FCC said.
The fine is being delivered as a result of the Congressionally passed “Truth in Caller ID Act,” which makes spoofed calls illegal when made with the intent to defraud, cause harm, or wrongfully obtain anything of value.
The FCC forfeiture order relies in particular on the FCC Enforcement Bureau’s coordinated investigation into the calls with USTelecom’s Industry Traceback Group, a bipartisan anti-robocall multistate litigation task force, and the New Hampshire Department of Justice’s Office of the Attorney General.
The investigation stems from calls received by voters two days before the New Hampshire 2024 presidential primary election. The spoofed robocalls carried a deepfake audio recording of President Biden’s cloned voice telling prospective voters not to vote in the upcoming primary. Kramer directed the calls, which were transmitted through Lingo Telecom.
The Commission reached a separate settlement with Lingo Telecom in August, which sees the company agreeing to a $1 million civil penalty and adopt a compliance plan per a consent decree with the Commission.
Loyaan A. Egal, Chief of the Enforcement Bureau and chair of the Privacy and Data Protection Task Force, commented, “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. The Enforcement Bureau will be vigilant in safeguarding our democratic freedoms, and this is an important illustration of that commitment. Today’s significant penalty sends a clear message to bad actors that the abuse of this technology will not be tolerated,” said “We thank our partners for their help with this investigation.”
In addition to the FCC, the New Hampshire Attorney General has also taken action against Kramer. He was indicted in New Hampshire on state charges of felony voter suppression and misdemeanor impersonation of a candidate. In a separate civil suit, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a statement supporting the right of private plaintiffs to bring a lawsuit challenging the robocalls as intimidating, threatening, or coercive in violation of the Voting Rights Act.
Republican Commissioner Nate Simington dissented.
However, FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel released a statement that supports the Commission’s fine.
“The future of our democracy is the hands of those who vote, but [with] this election something new is emerging,” Rosenworcel said. “It is now cheap and easy to use Artificial Intelligence 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. We need to call it out when we see it and use every tool at our disposal to stop this fraud … Let me be very clear. If you flood our phones with this junk, we will find you and you will pay.”
‘CHEVRON DEFERENCE’ END COULD UPEND FORFEITURE POWER
Why did Simington dissent?
“Under new and controlling Supreme Court precedent, the Commission’s authority to assess monetary forfeitures as it traditionally has done is unclear,” he explained. “Until the Commission formally determines the bounds of its enforcement authority under this new precedent, I am obligated to dissent from any decision purporting to impose a monetary forfeiture. I call on the Commission to open a Notice of Inquiry to determine the new constitutional contours of Commission enforcement authority.”
