US political consultant Steven Kramer indicted over AI-generated Joe Biden robocalls, faces $6 million fine
Joe Biden seeking to dissuade people from voting for him in New Hampshire's Democratic primary election, the New Hampshire Attorney General's Office said on Thursday.Steven Kramer, 54, faces 13 charges of felony voter suppression and 13 misdemeanor impersonation of a candidate charges after thousands of New Hampshire residents received a robocall message asking them not to vote until November. Kramer faces a series of initial court appearances starting on June 14 in Merrimack Superior Court.A lawyer for Kramer could not immediately be identified.
Kramer did not respond to a request seeking comment.Kramer told CBS and NBC in February he had paid $500 to have the calls sent to voters to call attention to the issue, after the calls were discovered in January. He had worked for Biden's primary challenger, Representative Dean Phillips, who denounced the callsSeparately, the Federal Communications Commission on Thursday proposed to fine Kramer $6 million over the robocalls it said were using an AI-generated deepfake audio recording of Biden’s cloned voice, saying its rules prohibit transmission of inaccurate caller ID information."When a caller sounds like a politician you know, a celebrity you like, or a family member who is familiar, any one of us could be tricked into believing something that is not true with calls using AI technology," FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel said.The FCC also proposed to fine Lingo Telecom $2 million for allegedly transmitting the robocalls.There is growing concern in Washington that AI-generated content could mislead voters in the November presidential and congressional elections.
Read more on livemint.com
