The Federal Communications Commission is weighing a request that could let political groups call voters’ cellphones with prerecorded or AI-generated voices without first getting consent. The FCC has not approved the request, and current rules remain in force. Reply comments are due October 19, ahead of the November midterms.

The proposal puts a familiar election-season nuisance, the robocall, at the center of a dispute over voter consent, political speech and AI-generated messages.

What the petition would change

Club for Growth, a political advocacy group, asked the FCC for a waiver and exemption from rules that generally require prior consent for artificial or prerecorded calls to wireless numbers. The agency opened the request for public comment on September 4.

In February 2024, the FCC said calls using AI-generated human voices fall under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act’s restrictions on artificial or prerecorded voices. They generally require the called person’s prior express consent unless an exception applies.

The request is narrower than a general rollback of AI-call rules. It seeks permission for noncommercial political calls to wireless numbers without that consent. The FCC’s public notice asks for comment; it does not grant permission.

Free speech versus unwanted calls

Club for Growth argues that a waiver would help political organizations reach voters, including in multiple languages, and says existing restrictions burden political speech. The group has also pointed to unsolicited automated calls to landlines, which face different rules.

Consumer advocates warn that removing the consent requirement for mobile calls could expose voters to more unwanted or misleading messages. The concern goes beyond recorded campaign pitches. The Associated Press reported concerns that AI systems could also support live calls that give voters false or incomplete information.

A 2024 incident offers a recent warning. During the New Hampshire primary, voters received an AI-generated robocall mimicking then-President Joe Biden and urging them not to vote. The FCC later clarified that AI-generated human voices are covered by existing robocall restrictions.

October 19 is the next checkpoint

The FCC set October 5 for initial comments and October 19 for replies. The agency could act after that, but it has not announced a decision date. The Associated Press reported that the FCC could rule as soon as late October.

If the commission grants the request, the change would concern consent for certain political calls to cellphones, not blanket permission to deceive voters. Other laws against misleading election messages would still apply, the Associated Press reported.

The decision could change whether certain political groups need consent before calling voters’ cellphones, but the FCC has not yet granted the waiver.

The timing matters: a ruling could come before the November midterms, while the existing consent rules remain in effect unless the FCC changes them.