FCC fines Lingo Telecom $2M after CCO warned about fake Biden robocalls

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) proposed a $2 million fine against Texas-based Lingo Telecom for facilitating robocalls that used artificial intelligence (AI) to fake President Joe Biden’s voice after the company’s chief compliance officer was warned in February.

The first-of-its-kind enforcement action charged the company with violating the FCC’s caller ID authentication rules, the agency announced in a press release Thursday. In a related action, the FCC proposed a $6 million fine against political consultant Steve Kramer, who engaged several companies, including Lingo, to transmit the calls.

In February, the FCC’s enforcement bureau issued a cease-and-desist letter to the company’s chief compliance officer, Alex Valencia, warning that failure to comply “may result in downstream providers permanently blocking all of Lingo’s traffic.”