The FCC’s Enforcement Bureau has entered into a Consent Decree to resolve its investigation into apparent violations by Lingo Telecom, LLC (Lingo Telecom), of the FCC’s rules regarding STIR/SHAKEN attestations. Lingo, in a failure to utilize reasonable “Know Your Customer” protocols, apparently applied incorrect STIR/SHAKEN attestations to spoofed robocalls carrying a deepfake generative artificial intelligence voice message purporting to be from President Biden. The message, which targeted New Hampshire primary election voters two days before the 2024 Democratic Presidential Primary Election, told voters not to vote in the upcoming primary election. As a result, the Commission proposed a first-of-its-kind Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture against a carrier.
To settle this mater, Lingo Telecom has agreed to implement a robust compliance plan and pay a $1,000,000 civil penalty, which is substantially lower than the $2,000,000 million penalty that the Commission proposed in the NAL. The Commission has concluded that the public interest would be served by adopting the Consent Decree.
