South Dakota Attorney General wants tighter rules for telemarketers using AI

Marty Jackley joins 25 other state prosecutors asking feds for more restrictions

South Dakota’s top law enforcement officer wants more regulations on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the telecommunications industry.

South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley has joined 25 other Attorneys General in requesting the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to restrict telemarketers that use AI for automated phone calls.

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“These calls manipulates consumers by sounding like a real person,” Jackley said in a statement provided to The Dakota Scout Thursday. “Scammers are always looking for ways to harm consumers, and the federal government needs to act.”

In November, the FCC asked for input on the implications and usage of AI technology in consumer communications and how the technology fits under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). Specifically, the FCC wants information on the potential ability of AI technologies to act as the functional equivalent of a live agent.

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Pursuant to the TCPA, robocalls are those calls made using an artificial or prerecorded voice. Such calls are generally prohibited unless the calling party obtains prior consent of the person receiving the call.

Signing onto a letter sent to the FCC this week were Democratic and Republican Attorneys General from Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Washington D.C., Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Jersey, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Vermont and Washington.

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