Lingo Telecom, the Texas-based telecommunications company, has been fined $1 million by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for its role in an illegal deepfake scam that impersonated President Joe Biden.
The scam used artificial intelligence to create a fake Biden vote, which was then distributed via robocalls to discourage voters from casting their ballots in the New Hampshire primary in January.
A fine goes further than just a punitive measure
According to the FCC, the fine goes beyond punitive action; it is also a step toward holding telecommunications companies accountable for the content distributed over their networks. In addition to the financial penalty, the FCC has ordered Lingo Telecom to implement a “historic compliance plan.” This plan includes strict adherence to caller ID authentication rules designed to prevent fraud and deception, such as in this case.
Lingo Telecom must also comply with the “Know Your Customer” and “Know Your Upstream Provider” principles, which enable telephone companies to better monitor telephone traffic effectively and ensure that all calls are properly authenticated.
Disrupting New Hampshire Primary Elections
The robocalls, coordinated by political consultant Steve Kramer, were part of a broader effort to disrupt the New Hampshire primary by using AI technology to create a convincing imitation of Biden’s voice in order to manipulate and intimidate voters, undermining the democratic process.
Kramer was indicted on May 23 for his role in the robocalls. He was working for rival candidate Dean Phillips at the time and was accused of posing as a running candidate during the New Hampshire Democratic primary.
The use of deepfake technology in this scam is particularly disturbing and marks a new and worrying development in the fight against disinformation. Deepfakes, which use AI to create highly realistic but fraudulent audio or video recordings, pose a serious threat to the integrity of democratic processes.
Source: https://newsbit.nl/telecommunicatiebedrijf-lingo-telecom-krijgt-boete-van-1-miljoen/
