The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has officially announced a recommended fine against political consultant Steve Cramer for a series of illegal robocalls and caller ID theft using deepfake artificial intelligence technology during the New Hampshire primary. Kramer must pay a $6 million fine within the next 30 days or the Justice Department will handle the collection. .
Kramer broke The 2009 legislation prohibits anyone from “knowingly transmitting misleading or inaccurate caller ID information with intent to defraud, injure, or unlawfully obtain anything of value,” according to the 2009 legislation notes. The law predated the widespread use of artificial intelligence, but the FCC voted it down It should be applied to such deep frauds last February.
The fake robocalls delivered a pre-recorded audio of President Biden’s voice to New Hampshire residents in the lead up to the 2024 presidential election using deep fake artificial intelligence technology. Fake President Biden told voters not to vote in the upcoming primaries: “Your vote makes a difference in November, not this Tuesday.” . The robocalls were reportedly spoofed because they originated from the former chairman of the New Hampshire Democratic Party. .
Kramer hired New Orleans magician (no, really, a real magician) Paul Carpenter to make the fake recordings. The carpenter showed How ElevenLabs Made Deep Fake Audio Files of President Biden Using an Artificial Intelligence Voice Generator According to his claim, the recordings took only 20 minutes. Carpenter says Kramer paid him through Venmo, and he thought what he was doing was authorized by President Biden’s campaign. Eleven Labs has since closed Carpenter’s account.
Kramer claims he sends the robocalls to raise awareness about the dangers and misuse of the technology. His apparent experiment cost him just $500, but according to a political consultant, it paid off handsomely. “It’s not for me to do this and get $5 million worth of exposure,” Kramer told CBS New York. “I kept myself anonymous so the rules could just show themselves or play by themselves. I don’t need to be famous. That is not my intention. My goal was to make a change.”
Not only does Kramer face a hefty FCC fine, but he also faces criminal charges. Last May, it announced that Cramer was charged with 13 felony counts of voter suppression and 13 counts of candidate identification.
