May 29, 2024 at 02:31PM
Political consultant Steven Kramer has been indicted on charges of felony voter suppression and misdemeanor impersonation of a candidate for orchestrating a deepfake robocall impersonating US President Joe Biden. He paid $150 for the deepfake and was fined $6 million by the FCC. Kramer admitted his goal was to reduce voter turnout, expressing no remorse and claiming his actions were meant to highlight the dangers of AI in politics. The FCC also proposed a $2 million fine for the voice service provider used to transmit the calls.
From the meeting notes, it has been revealed that a political consultant named Steven Kramer has been indicted on charges of felony voter suppression and misdemeanor impersonation of a candidate for paying for a deepfake robocall impersonating US President Joe Biden. The call urged people not to vote in New Hampshire’s Democratic primary, with the aim of reducing voter turnout to benefit Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN).
Kramer admitted to writing the call script before paying for the deepfake recording using AI to clone the president’s voice. He also hired a telemarketing firm to play the recording to voters over the phone. Despite several investigations, Kramer expressed no remorse for his actions and claimed to have orchestrated the scheme to draw attention to the dangers of AI in politics.
Moreover, the FCC has fined Kramer $6 million for the call, and has also proposed a $2 million fine for Lingo Telecom, the voice service provider used to transmit the calls.
It has been further mentioned that despite Kramer’s claim of acting alone, Rep. Phillips had paid him over $250,000 at the time of the robocall debacle, suggesting their involvement in the scheme.
The situation seems to be complex with potential implications for both Kramer and Rep. Phillips.