FCC Consumer Advisory Committee Adopts Final AI-Robocall Recommendations
The FCC Consumer Advisory Committee voted unanimously Tuesday to adopt recommendations on using AI to protect vulnerable populations from unwanted and illegal calls. CTIA abstained from the vote, held during CAC's final meeting of its current chapter (see 2408130057). The recommendations included nine from Working Group 1, which focused on technical issues. Working Group 2, which focused on outreach and consumer education, offered seven recommendations.
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The FCC is also currently reviewing membership applications for CAC's next charter, said Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau Chief Alejandro Roark, calling the group's work "important and timely." Roark also noted the commission wants comments by Oct. 10, replies by Oct. 25, on an NPRM about further reducing unwanted and illegal AI-generated robocalls and robotexts that consumers receive (see 2409090010).
WG 1 encouraged the FCC to partner with other federal agencies to "ensure there's a comprehensive solution across all agencies that help prevent AI from being used for malicious calling purposes," said CAC Co-Chair John Breyault, vice president-public policy, telecommunications and fraud at the National Consumers League. The WG concluded that AI-generated calls are a Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) violation and urged the FCC to launch a "workshop showcase or other initiative" that will encourage providers to "develop, demonstrate, and implement AI detection and mitigation technologies."
Other recommendations included supporting providers as they develop tools to identify and block illegal or unwanted calls, considering privacy risks while evaluating the benefits of such calls, seeking comment on the "state of the AI threat environment," encouraging industry collaboration with app developers and other stakeholders, establishing an additional advisory committee that will address AI-related topics specifically, and ensuring any robocall regulations don't "deter development and use of AI-powered tools" that may assist consumers with disabilities.
WG 2's recommendations emphasized a "multi-channel, inclusive consumer education campaign" that maximizes "community-level reach," said co-Chair Claudia Ruiz, civil rights analyst at UnidosUS. The group recommended developing national public education and engagement campaigns to help consumers "recognize, react, and report appropriately and safely" when they receive a robocall or text, Ruiz said. The group also suggested developing materials that can assist organizations in their outreach efforts. "A campaign is only as strong as its reach," Ruiz said.
Other recommendations called for designing a multichannel and multimodal campaign dissemination plan, establishing and maintaining ongoing partnerships with community anchor institutions, developing a "train the trainers" model, incorporating AI-robocall and robotext education with broadband access and literacy initiatives, and expanding and promoting the FCC's consumer inquiries and complaints center.