Telecom Carrier Faces $2 Million FCC Fine for Enabling Deepfake Robocall Scheme

A telecom company is facing a hefty $2 million fine from federal regulators for its alleged role in transmitting an illegal robocall campaign that used artificial intelligence to spoof President Biden's voice days before the New Hampshire presidential primary.

The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday announced the proposed penalties against Lingo Telecom, accusing the Voice-over-IP provider of improperly verifying the origin of the robocall traffic and applying the highest level of caller ID certification despite apparent signs of malicious spoofing.

According to the FCC's findings, the robocalls placed in January 2024 carried an AI-generated audio clone mimicking Biden's voice instructing potential voters to stay home during the primary election. The calls also illegally spoofed the caller ID to make it appear they were coming from a New Hampshire political operative who was unaware they were being impersonated.

Regulators say Lingo failed to follow proper vetting procedures before allowing the robocall campaign access to its systems with an improper "full attestation" rating indicating legitimate caller ID numbers. This lapse enabled the delivery of the deceptive calls to numerous recipients.

"Telecom providers need to take ownership and verify the legitimacy of their traffic sources," said Loyaan Egal, the FCC's Enforcement Bureau chief. "Letting illegal robocall and spoofing operations run unchecked erodes trust in our communications platforms."

The $2 million fine represents one of the FCC's first enforcement actions related specifically to robocalls deploying AI-powered deepfake audio designed to mislead consumers. It highlights regulators' growing concerns about how rapidly evolving generative AI capabilities could be weaponized for fraudulent robocall schemes on a larger scale.

Lingo has 30 days to respond to the FCC's notice proposing the multimillion-dollar fine. The telecom provider risk shigher penalties if it had prior violations.

The FCC's action follows a cease-and-desist order it issued to Lingo in February demanding it cut off the robocall campaign's network access point. Authorities have also brought a separate enforcement case against the political consultant who initiated the deepfake robocall operation through a voice broadcasting service vendor.

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