Feb. 7 (UPI) — The New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office identified an outfit from Texas as the source of illegal artificial intelligence robocalls imitating the voice of President Joe Biden.
Attorney General John Formella said his investigation found that the source of the robocalls, which encouraged Democrats not to vote in the New Hampshire presidential primary on Jan. 23, was Texas-based Life Corporation and an individual named Walter Monk.
Formella said a cease-and-desist order was sent to the Life Corporation for engaging in voter suppression. He said that Life Corporation’s voice service provider Lingo Telecom suspended its services to the Life Corporation after learning of the investigation.
The investigation found that 5,000-25,000 robocalls imitating Biden had been made before the primary.
“Ensuring public confidence in the electoral process is vital,” Formella said in a statement. “AI-generated recordings used to deceive voters have the potential to have devastating effects on the democratic election process,” Formella said.
Formella said he received assistance from the Anti-Robocall Multistate Litigation Task Force and the Federal Communications Commission’s Enforcement Bureau. He said his Election Law Unit issued document preservation notices and subpoenas to the Life Corporation and other entities to preserve records in connection with the investigation.
“This partnership and fast action in this matter send a clear message that law enforcement, regulatory agencies, and industry are staying vigilant and are working closely together to monitor and investigate any signs of AI being used maliciously to threaten our democratic process,” Formella said.
The robocalls using Biden’s voice last month told voters to “save your vote” until November’s general election.
“Voting this Tuesday only enables the Republicans in their quest to elect Donald Trump again. Your vote makes a difference in November, not this Tuesday, the call said.
Biden ultimately won the New Hampshire primary in a write-in campaign after he was not placed on the ballot in retaliation for a move to make South Carolina the first primary state for the Democratic National Committee.
