(PatriotWise.com) — The Democrat political consultant who admitted that he was responsible for the AI-generated robocall New Hampshire voters received before the primary in January was indicted on Thursday.
Steve Kramer was indicted in the Granite State on 13 counts each of felony voter suppression and impersonation of a candidate, a misdemeanor.
New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella said Kramer’s indictment sent a “strong deterrent signal” to those considering the use of artificial intelligence to interfere with elections.
The Federal Communication Commission also announced on Thursday that it had proposed a fine of $6 million against Kramer for defrauding voters with scam calls using spoofing technology, which violates the Truth in Caller ID Act.
In addition to fining Kramer, the FCC also levied a $2 million fine on Lingo Telecom, the company responsible for putting the scam robocalls through.
In a statement on Thursday, FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel said that the fines were “only a start.” She said that she presented to the FCC commissioners a proposal to require election ads to disclose whether AI technology had been used in their creation.
The New Hampshire robocall, which went out to thousands of Granite State voters in the lead-up to the January 23 primary, used an AI-generated deep-fake Joe Biden voice to urge Democrats not to vote in the primary but “save” their votes for the November election.
The call prompted the FCC to approve a new rule banning robocalls that use AI-generated voices.
The New Hampshire Attorney General’s investigation into the robocall determined that two out-of-state companies, including Lingo Telecom, were involved in distributing the call in New Hampshire and using spoofing technology to hide the call’s origin.
Kramer’s involvement was revealed by the individual hired to create the AI-generated Biden voice used in the robocall.
Kramer later admitted that he was responsible for the creation of the robocall but insisted that it was done to prompt regulations limiting the use of AI-generated deep-fakes in political campaigns.
A veteran Democratic consultant, Kramer was working with Biden’s primary challenger, Minnesota Democrat Rep. Dean Phillips, at the time.
Phillips denied any involvement in the robocall.
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