New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella announced on Thursday that Steven Kramer had been indicted on more than two dozen charges for allegedly sending artificial intelligence-generated robocalls mimicking President Joe Biden’s voice to voters ahead of the New Hampshire presidential primary earlier this year. Formella emphasized the state’s commitment to ensuring election integrity and stated that the investigation into the matter is ongoing.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) proposed a $6 million fine for Mr. Kramer, a Louisiana-based political consultant, who faces charges of felony voter suppression and misdemeanor impersonation of a candidate. Formella also mentioned that the FCC will be taking separate enforcement action against Kramer for violating federal law, demonstrating a unified effort to protect consumers and voters from harmful robocalls and voter suppression tactics.
Mr. Kramer has confessed to orchestrating the AI-generated voice similar to the president’s and using specific phrases in the robocalls sent to thousands of voters. The calls falsely suggested that voting in the primary would affect their ability to vote in the general election in November.
Voters who received the robocalls were instructed to withhold their vote for the November election, with the message implying that their vote would have a greater impact in the general election. The charges against Mr. Kramer were filed in four counties based on the locations of the identified voters who received the calls.
Telecom Company Also Faces Fine
In a related development, the FCC proposed a $2 million fine against Lingo Telecom for its involvement in transmitting the robocalls. The company is accused of violating federal caller identification authentication rules and failing to verify customer information accurately, leading to the dissemination of misleading calls impersonating President Biden.
Lingo Telecom, based in Texas, is held accountable for not adhering to protocols that ensure the accuracy of caller information and failing to implement standards mandated by the FCC for reliable caller ID information. The enforcement actions aim to prevent the misuse of generative AI technology to interfere with elections and deceive consumers.
Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel underscored the FCC’s collaboration with attorneys general nationwide to combat the misuse of AI technology in spreading misinformation through robocalls. The investigation into the AI-generated robocalls, including identifying other potential culprits, is still ongoing to safeguard election integrity and protect voters from deceptive practices.
Please rewrite the following sentence:
“The dog quickly ran across the field to fetch the ball.”
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