FCC fines political consultant $6M for faking Biden's voice in robocalls to N.H. voters

The Federal Communications Commission has fined political consultant Steve Kramer $6 million for his part in trying to dupe New Hampshire primary voters with a so-called robocall in which Artificial Intelligence was used to mimic the voice of President Biden advising them not to cast ballots in the state's Democratic primary.

The FCC announced the fine on Thursday. 

Kramer was working for Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn., who was seeking the Democratic presidential nomination against Biden at the time. However, Philips made clear he was not involved in the apparent effort to suppress voter turnout. 

“I’m disgusted that a consultant hired to assist my campaign with ballot access is alleged to have faked a robocall impersonating Joe Biden," Phillip said earlier this year. "While I don’t know the person in question, such behavior is despicable and I trust will be investigated by authorities."

Kramer told The Associated Press in February that he wasn’t trying to influence the outcome of the election but rather wanted to send a wake-up call about the potential dangers of artificial intelligence when he paid a New Orleans magician $150 to create the recording.

Lingo Telecom, the Texas-based voice service provider that sent the robocalls, agreed last month to pay a $1 million fine and enhance its safeguards against fake ones, according to a settlement with the FCC.