The two Texas-based companies have been linked to multiple robocalls . An audio deepfake was used to urge New Hampshire voters not to participate in the state’s presidential election. New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella said that up to 25,000 calls were made to the state’s residents in January.
Formella says the investigation linked the source of the robocalls to Life Corporation of Texas and Lingo Telecom. No charges have yet been filed against the company or Life Corporation’s owner, Walter Monk. The investigation is ongoing and other agencies are believed to be involved. Federal law enforcement agencies are also reportedly investigating the case.
“We have sent Life Corporation a cease and desist letter ordering the company to immediately stop violating New Hampshire election laws,” Formella said at a news conference. . “We have also opened a criminal investigation and are taking the next steps in this investigation by issuing document protection notices and subpoenas to Life Corporation, Lingo Telecom and any other individual or entity.”
The Federal Communications Commission also sent a cease and desist letter to Lingo Telecom. The agency said () has warned both companies about robocalls in the past.
Deepfake was created using tools from ElevenLabs, an artificial intelligence voice cloning company . The company says it is “dedicated to preventing abuse of audio AI tools and [that it takes] any abuse is extremely serious.”
Meanwhile, the FCC which uses AI-generated sounds. Under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, the agency is responsible for developing rules regarding robocalls. Commissioners will vote on the issue in the coming weeks.
