FCC rules consent required for AI use

The Federal Communications Commission issued a ruling that speech generated by artificial intelligence requires consent of the called party, per the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).

The ruling was voted unanimously by the FCC, citing “voice cloning” falls under existing restrictions on artificial or prerecorded voice messages in the TCPA. The ruling states:

“Our finding will deter negative uses of AI and ensure that consumers are fully protected by the TCPA when they receive such calls. And it also makes clear that the TCPA does not allow for any carve out of technologies that purport to provide the equivalent of a live agent, thus preventing unscrupulous businesses from attempting to exploit any perceived ambiguity in our TCPA rules. Although voice cloning and other uses of AI on calls are still evolving, we have already seen their use in ways that can uniquely harm consumers and those whose voice is cloned.”