Telecom fined $1 million for transmitting Biden deepfake with spoofed Caller ID

The Federal Communications Commission has announced a settlement with Lingo Telecom, a voice service provider. The telecom agreed to resolve the enforcing action for carrying a deepfake audio recording of President Joe Biden’s cloned voice telling prospective voters not to vote in the upcoming primary in New Hampshire.

The telecom will pay a $1 million civil penalty and implement “first-of-their-kind compliance terms” that require strict adherence to ID authentication and traffic vetting rules.

The voice service provider transmitted spoofed robocalls, spreading disinformation before a presidential primary election in New Hampshire. The calls intimidated votes using AI voice cloning technology and were directed by political consultant Steve Kramer, who attempted to interfere in the primary election.

The FCC charged Kramer for “initiating the robocalls using caller ID spoofing to facilitate the misuse of the deepfake, AI-generated voice cloning technology.” The enforcement action remains pending, and Kramer faces a proposed $6 million fine. Kramer was also indicted on state charges of felony voter suppression and misdemeanor impersonation of a candidate.

“Every one of us deserves to know that the voice on the line is exactly who they claim to be,” said FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. “If AI is being used, that should be made clear to any consumer, citizen, and voter who encounters it.”

On January 21st, 2024, voters in New Hampshire, two days before the presidential primary election, received 9581 calls carrying the prerecorded AI deepfake. The message, spoken in a fake voice impersonating Biden, encouraged people to abstain from voting. The calls used spoofed caller ID information, leading to an unknown and uninvolved “local political operative.”

Lingo Telecom was the originating provider for several of these calls – the first voice service provider in the call path.

The FCC initially proposed a $2 million penalty. The settlement resolves this forfeiture against Lingo Telecom and terminates the investigation.

According to the agreement with the FCC, Lingo Telecom will apply the highest level of caller ID authentication to calls, verify the identity of each customer and upstream provider, and only transmit traffic from upstream providers with robust robocall mitigation measures.

“The potential combination of the misuse of generative AI voice-cloning technology and caller ID spoofing over the US communications network presents a significant threat,” said Enforcement Bureau Chief Loyaan A. Egal.

“This settlement sends a strong message that communications service providers are the first line of defense against these threats and will be held accountable to ensure they do their part to protect the American public.”

The FCC estimates that previous successful enforcement actions ended a predatory mortgage robocall campaign targeting homeowners nationwide. The FCC actions also resulted in a 99% drop in auto warranty scam robocalls and an 88% month-to-month drop in student loan scam robocalls.