The wireless carrier that allowed deepfake robocalls from President Joe Biden to be sent to prospective voters in New Hampshire during the state’s Democratic primary has reached a settlement with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), according to a commission announcement Wednesday. Texas-based Lingo Telecom will pay a $1 million civil penalty over voter suppression efforts as part of the settlement.

The fake Biden calls controversy originally began when a political consultant named Steve Kramer was hired by the presidential campaign of Dean Phillips, a Democratic congressman from Minnesota who unsuccessfully tried to beat Biden for his party’s nomination. Kramer reportedly used AI cloning technology to make calls that sounded like President Biden, including a script that made it sound like he didn’t want his supporters to vote for him in the New Hampshire primary last January.

While Lingo Telecom did not originate the robocalls, it allowed them to be transmitted over its network, which the FCC says violates the agency’s Know Your Customer (KYC) and Know Your Upstream Provider (KYUP) rules. The Phillips campaign said Kramer acted independently and did not know about or authorize the fake Biden calls. Kramer’s final punishment is pending with the FCC, but he faces a $6 million fine.

It’s hard to believe, but the fake robocalls were not only a risky endeavor, they also provided little benefit to the candidate they were intended to help. Phillips received less than 20% of the vote in New Hampshire despite his intense campaigning. Biden received nearly 64% of the vote, while Marianne Williamson received just 4%. But the robocalls and the FCC’s enforcement will likely deter any other mainstream political campaigns considering similar tactics in the future.

“Every one of us has the right to know that the voice on the phone is exactly who it says it is,” FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel said in a press release. “When AI is used, that should be made clear to every consumer, citizen and voter who comes into contact with it. The FCC will act when trust in our communications networks is at stake.”

The FCC’s notice states that in addition to the fine, Lingo has agreed to three other changes to ensure it knows who is using its wireless network:

• Applying A-level verification, the highest level of trust attributed to a telephone number, only to a call where Lingo Telecom itself has provided the caller ID number to the caller
• Verifying the identity and business activity of each customer and upstream provider by obtaining independent confirmatory records
• Only transfer traffic from upstream providers that have robust robocall mitigation
  Mechanisms are in place and respond to traceback requests.

The FCC also justified the enforcement by citing U.S. geopolitical adversaries abroad who might seek to influence American elections. It should be noted, however, that this was entirely a domestic operation led by an American seeking to support Phillips.

“Whether by domestic agents seeking political advantage or sophisticated foreign adversaries seeking to exert malicious influence or engage in election manipulation, the potential combination of misuse of generative AI voice cloning technology and caller ID spoofing over the U.S. communications network poses a significant threat,” Loyaan A. Egal, director of the FCC’s Office of Enforcement, said in a press release. “This settlement sends a strong message that communications service providers are the first line of defense against these threats and will be held accountable to ensure they do their part to protect the American public.”