Governor Josh Green, M.D.

 

 

DEPARTMENT OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

KA ʻOIHANA O KA LOIO KUHINA

 

JOSH GREEN, M.D.

GOVERNOR

KE KIAʻĀINA

 

ANNE LOPEZ

ATTORNEY GENERAL

LOIO KUHINA

News Release 2024-03

ATTORNEY GENERAL LOPEZ JOINS MULTISTATE COALITION URGING FCC RESTRICT ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE USE IN MARKETING PHONE CALLS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 19, 2024

HONOLULU – Attorney General Anne Lopez joins 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 by telemarketers and asking the federal government to strongly restrict 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.

 

Hawai‘i 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.

 

“While the rapid, recent development of A.I. technology contains great potential, we must also remain vigilant as to the ways it can be misused,” said Deputy Attorney General Chris Leong, of the department’s Commerce and Economic Development Division. “If A.I. can create artificial voices that will then robocall unsuspecting consumers, then these A.I. voices should not be treated differently from any other artificial or prerecorded voice already subject to regulation by the FCC.”

Attorney General Lopez joins the Attorneys General for Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Washington D.C., Illinois, Massachusetts, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Jersey, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont, and Washington.

A copy of the comment letter can be found here.

 

 

Media Contacts:

Dave Day

Special Assistant to the Attorney General

Office: 808-586-1284

Email: [email protected]

Web: http://ag.hawaii.gov

 

Toni Schwartz
Public Information Officer
Hawai‘i Department of the Attorney General
Office: 808-586-1252
Cell: 808-379-9249
Email: [email protected]