Senator urges FCC to reject AI-generated robocalls from conservative group

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer has urged the FCC to reject a conservative group's bid to use political AI-generated robocalls ahead of the November elections.Conservative political group Club for Growth asked the FCC to allow it to make political calls to cell phones "using an artificial or prerecorded voice - including an AI-generated voice - without obtaining prior express consent."The FCC could act within days, with the comment period on the petition expiring on Monday."Under this change, campaigns could use their opponents’ voice to send out a message that is, at best, disingenuous and, at worst, a blatant lie," Schumer said.Club for Growth President David McIntosh said in a statement earlier this month that the group wants "the FCC to treat First Amendment-protected political speech the same way it already treats wireless calls about package deliveries, bank accounts, and doctor's appointments."A number of public interest groups have urged the FCC to reject the petition, as has Democratic FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez (AFP/Getty)The organization backs conservative economic views on taxes, regulations and cutting the size of government. It plans to spend $175 million in the midterm congressional elections, according to its website.The FCC, in describing the petition, said 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."In addition to Schumer, a number of public interest groups have urged the FCC not to grant the petition, as has Democratic FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez.Schumer pointed to a 2024 case as he made his argument. In that year, the FCC proposed fining a political consultant $6 million over fake robocalls that mimicked then President Joe Biden's voice.The calls urged New Hampshire voters not to vote in that state's Democratic primary.A spokesperson for FCC Chair Brendan Carr did not immediately comment."There is absolutely no excuse to relax these standards and allow special interests to flood our cellphone lines with deepfakes or dark-money-funded AI voices," Schumer said.