FEBRUARY 21, 2024:
South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley is praising the Federal Communications Commission’s decision to ban Artificial Intelligence-generated robocalls.
The FCC decision, announced last week, makes illegal the voice cloning technology used in common robocall scams that target consumers. The decision is part of an adoption of a Declaratory Ruling that recognizes calls made with AI-generated voices are considered artificial under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991. That ruling gives State Attorneys General additional support to prosecute those involved in the robocalls.
Jackley was one of 26 State Attorneys General who requested in January that the FCC restrict the use of AI by telemarketers. Jackley also is part of the nationwide Attorneys General Anti-Robocall Multistate Litigation Task Force that recently wrote to a company which allegedly sent New Hampshire residents scam election robocalls, with the use of AI, during the New Hampshire primary election.
Jackley says AI technology is being used in robocalls to confuse and misinform the public, and this action will better protect consumers in South Dakota. He thanks the FCC for making AI robocalls illegal and for giving his office the ability to go after those bad actors as they work to protect the citizens of South Dakota.
JANUARY 19, 2024:
PIERRE, S.D. – South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley and 25 other Attorneys General are asking the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to restrict the use of artificial intelligence by telemarketers.
In November 2023, the FCC posted a Notice of Inquiry requesting input on the implications and usage of A.I. technology in consumer communications and how the technology fits under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). Specifically, the FCC inquired about the potential ability of A.I. technologies to act as the functional equivalent of a live agent.
Pursuant to the TCPA, robocalls are those calls made using an artificial or prerecorded voice. Such calls are generally prohibited unless the calling party obtains the prior express written consent of the consumer.
“These calls manipulates consumers by sounding like a real person,” said Attorney General Jackley. “Scammers are always looking for ways to harm consumers, and the federal government needs to act.”
Other Attorneys General on the bipartisan letter are from states of Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Washington D.C., Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Jersey, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Vermont, and Washington.
A copy of the comment letter can be found here:
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