What the FCC is evaluating
On August 31, 2026, Club for Growth, a conservative-leaning economic policy organization, filed a petition with the FCC so that political groups can make robocalls to cell phones with artificial or prerecorded voices without the prior permission of the recipient. According to the AP news agency, the petition asks for a waiver of the current rules and would apply both to prerecorded messages and to live conversations handled by language models, that is, AI voice agents.
The group proposes some limits: that each person receive no more than three calls in 30 days and be able to ask not to be called again. It argues that robocalls to landlines are already allowed, that the federal rules are outdated and that the change would help reach voters in more languages and improve polling.
The FCC, which has a Republican majority and is chaired by Brendan Carr, opened the comment period on September 4; responses were due by October 19. AP reported that the commission could decide as early as late October. Al Jazeera, by contrast, quoted an FCC spokesperson who said no one at the agency had shown interest in moving toward an order and that seeking comment is a routine procedure.
The reaction: Gomez, Schumer and civil society groups
Anna Gomez, the only Democratic commissioner among the FCC's three active members, opposed the petition on October 7. According to AP, she warned the change would bring a “tsunami” of robocalls and disinformation; she told Reuters that allowing a “dark money” group to send AI calls to people who never agreed to receive them would bring chaos very close to Election Day.
On October 19, the last day of the comment period, Senator Chuck Schumer, the Senate Democratic leader, urged the FCC not to approve the petition. According to Al Jazeera, he warned that campaigns could use their opponents' voices in these messages.
Organizations such as the Center for Democracy and Technology and the Brennan Center also raised concerns: they spoke of a huge opportunity for abuse, of AI calls that could give false information and of doubts about how those agents could capture or reuse voters' data.
The precedent: the 2024 rule on AI voices
In January 2024, before the New Hampshire primary, thousands of voters received a call with an AI-generated voice imitating then-President Joe Biden that suggested they not vote. The FCC traced the call to a political consultant working for candidate Dean Phillips; the consultant was acquitted of criminal voter suppression charges but faced fines and civil lawsuits under federal law.
Shortly afterward, on February 8, 2024, the FCC unanimously approved a declaratory ruling classifying AI-generated voices as “artificial” voices under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). In practice, this means a robocall with an AI voice requires the same prior consent as any call with a prerecorded voice, and that state attorneys general have one more tool to go after those who use it to scam or deceive.
In addition, Louisiana, Tennessee and Vermont passed laws this year requiring disclosure when a campaign call uses AI. The Club for Growth petition would not eliminate the laws against deceiving or intimidating voters, but it would remove the prior-consent requirement for these calls.
What it means for businesses in Colombia and Latin America
Although this is an election debate in the United States, it leaves a clear lesson for any company that uses or plans to use AI voice agents to call its customers: the technology is moving faster than public trust, and regulators are scrutinizing two things, consent and transparency.
- Only call people who authorized it. In Colombia, the Ley 1581 de 2012 protects personal data, including mobile numbers, and the Ley 2300 de 2023 regulates the hours and frequency of commercial contacts. Have documented authorization before launching automated campaigns.
- Say it is an AI. Letting the customer know from the greeting that they are talking to a virtual assistant prevents complaints and protects your brand.
- Offer a way out. Let the person ask to speak with a human or stop receiving calls, as even the advocates of loosening the rules propose.
- Don't imitate real voices. Cloning a person's voice without their permission is exactly what the FCC punished in 2024.
- Control volume and hours. Limiting attempts per customer reduces complaints and protects the reputation of your numbers.
At 19 80 TIC Cloud we implement AI voice agents designed to answer and make calls following these best practices, connected to your call center and your business numbers.
