[co-author: Stephanie Kozol]*
North Carolina Attorney General (AG) Josh Stein led a bipartisan effort urging the federal government to impose stricter regulations on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in telemarketing. The collective push involved 26 state AGs who jointly submitted a letter in response to the Federal Communication Commission (FCC’s) Notice of Inquiry (NOI) for “Implications of Artificial Intelligence Technologies on Protecting Consumers from Unwanted Robocalls and Robotexts. The FCC’s NOI furthers efforts by the Federal Government to better understand the impact of emerging AI technologies as it aims to protect consumers from unwanted and illegal telephone calls and text messages, as stipulated under Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).”
The AGs urged FCC to implement stern regulations, ensuring that marketers who use AI to impersonate a human voice are subject to current law regulating the use of artificial voices. Specifically, the AGs propose that marketers who use AI to mimic a human voice should be obliged to comply with the existing law pertaining to the use of artificial voice messages. This means marketers employing AI technology should obtain the same “prior express written consent” that is currently required under the TCPA. The AGs further cautioned FCC against caving to pressure from industry advocates seeking to equate advanced AI technology that has been trained to interact with the caller, with a live agent.
Why It Matters
State AGs, particularly AG Stein, have been at the forefront of numerous efforts to reduce the number of robocalls. This most recent effort acknowledges AI’s growing impact on the telemarketing industry and aims to address consumer concerns. This effort is part of a broader push by state AGs to urge federal regulators to act swiftly with respect to rapidly evolving AI technologies. For example, in September of last year a bipartisan coalition of 54 AGs championed a call to Congress to consider how AI might harm people, especially children.
*Senior Government Relations Manager
