On August 8, 2024, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPRM”) to address the growing use of AI-generated robocalls. The FCC’s NPRM follows a 2023 inquiry proceeding into how the FCC could use its authority under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”) to better protect consumers from unwanted or illegal robocalls.

In the NPRM, the FCC proposes to define “AI-generated call” as “a call that uses any technology or tool to generate an artificial or prerecorded voice or a text using computational technology or other machine learning, including predictive algorithms, and large language models, to process natural language and produce voice or text content to communicate with a called party over an outbound telephone call.” If adopted, the FCC’s new rules would require callers to disclose to consumers their use of AI technology.

Along with the NPRM, the FCC also issued a separate notice of inquiry (“NOI”), seeking additional comment and information on developing technologies that can alert customers to unwanted or illegal texts, including AI-generated calls. 

The NPRM was published in the Federal Register on September 10, 2024. Comments on the NPRM are due October 10, 2024; reply comments are due on October 25, 2024.