Tennessee Joins Coalition Urging Federal Authorities to Restrict Use of Artificial Intelligence in Robocalls

NASHVILLE —Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti joined a coalition of 26 states in sending a letter to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) emphasizing the potential harm in the use of artificial intelligence (A.I.) by telemarketers and asking the FCC to impose strict restrictions upon such usage.

In November, the FCC posted a Notice of Inquiry, in which it requested input on the implications and usage of A.I. technology in consumer communications and how the technology fits under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). Specifically, the FCC inquired about the potential ability of A.I. technologies to act as the functional equivalent of a live agent.

Pursuant to the TCPA, robocalls are those calls made using an artificial or prerecorded voice. Such calls are generally prohibited unless the calling party obtains the prior express written consent of the consumer.

Tennessee joined the comment letter to the FCC, saying marketers wanting to use A.I. to impersonate a human voice should be required to follow the TCPA’s rules and regulations with respect to “artificial voices,” including obtaining the prior express written consent from consumer targets.

Tennessee jointly submitted the comment letter with the Attorneys General for Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Washington D.C., Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Jersey, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Vermont, and Washington.

A copy of the comment letter can be found here.

###