Requiring additional consent for AI calls will cause confusion
Requiring additional consent to receive an “artificial intelligence (AI) generated call” is unnecessary and will only cause confusion, America’s Credit Unions and other organizations wrote the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Thursday. The FCC has proposed new disclosure rules when an AI voice is used to make calls, and other uses.
“Requiring consumers to separately consent to receiving an ‘AI-generated call,’ in addition to consent to receive an artificial or prerecorded voice call, will only generate confusion,” the comments read. “Consumers will no doubt wonder what additional features or functions they are consenting to when agreeing to receive a prerecorded or artificial voice call and/or an ‘AI-generated call.’ A likely outcome is that consumers will hesitate before giving consent to something they are unlikely to understand and may reflexively reject.
“Callers that fail to obtain specific consent for AI-generated calls will thus be prevented from utilizing the productivity gains and other benefits of AI that will facilitate critical calls such as fraud alerts, school closing or medical appointments,” it adds.
The organizations note:
- The Telephone Consumer Protection Act already requires prior consent to use an artificial or prerecorded voice and the FCC has affirmed an AI-generated voice is an artificial voice or prerecorded voice for TCPA purposes;
- Current rules require callers, when making a call using an artificial or prerecorded voice, including using AI, to accurately identify themselves at the start of the call and provide a call back number;
- Potential abuses of technology to perpetrate fraud can be addressed in a more narrowly targeted rule, instead of one requiring disclosure in all instances; and
- The FCC should not regulate AI-generated text messages at this time, as the use of AI to produce text content is generally not intended to deceive.
The organizations call on the FCC to create an established business relationship (EBR) exception if it does adopt additional AI-specific disclosures, potentially tailored to mirror the Do Not Call EBR exemption.