Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Artificial Intelligence Scam Prevention Act”.
Artificial Intelligence Scam Prevention Act
A BILL
To prevent fraud enabled by artificial intelligence, and for other purposes.
Sec. 2 Findings
Congress finds the following:
In 2024, scammers stole over $1,400,000,000 through phone and text message scams from people in the United States.
Artificial intelligence presents many opportunities for advancement. But some emerging technologies—including artificial intelligence-generated deepfakes and chatbots—are turbocharging scams, creating new types of scams, giving them broader reach, and making them easier to commit. The Federal Trade Commission has committed to using all of its tools to detect, deter, and halt impersonation fraud.
Scammers only need a short sample of an individual's voice and information readily available on the internet to generate an authentic-seeming imitation.
Federal, State, and local law enforcement, as well as the general public, need updated laws to hold perpetrators accountable under the law.
Sec. 3 Impersonation and artificial intelligence-enabled fraud prevention
Impersonation scams—
In general— It shall be unlawful for any person to—
engage in a deceptive act or practice in or affecting commerce by impersonating a government, business, or any official thereof;
replicate any individual's image or voice, including through the use of artificial intelligence, with the intent to defraud; or
provide substantial assistance to another person in violating subparagraphs (A) or (B) when they know or should reasonably know that such person is engaging in conduct described in subparagraph (A) or (B).
Enforcement by the FTC—
Unfair or deceptive acts or practices— A violation of this subsection shall be treated as a violation of a rule defining an unfair or deceptive act or practice under section 18(a)(1)(B) of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 57a(a)(1)(B)).
Powers of the FTC—
In general— The Federal Trade Commission shall enforce this subsection in the same manner, by the same means, and with the same jurisdiction, powers, and duties as though all applicable terms and provisions of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.) were incorporated into and made a part of this subsection.
Privileges and immunities— Any person who violates this subsection shall be subject to the penalties and entitled to the privileges and immunities provided in the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.).
Authority preserved— Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to limit the authority of the Federal Trade Commission under any other provision of law.
Seniors Fraud Advisory Office— Section 122(a)(2)(A) of the Seniors Fraud Prevention Act of 2022 (15 U.S.C. 45e(a)(2)(A)) is amended by inserting “information about scams enabled by artificial intelligence and” after “including”.
Sec. 4 Text messaging and video conferencing
Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act—
Definitions— Section 7 of the Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act (15 U.S.C. 6106) is amended—
in paragraph (4), by inserting “, text message, or video conference call” after “interstate telephone call”; and
by adding at the end the following new paragraphs:
“(5) The term text message—
“(A) means a message consisting of text, images, sounds, or other information that is transmitted—
“(i) to or from a device that is identified as the receiving or transmitting device by means of a 10-digit telephone number, N11 service code, short code telephone number, or email address; or
“(ii) through application-to-person messaging; and
“(B) includes—
“(i) a short message service (commonly referred to as ‘SMS’) message;
“(ii) a multimedia message service (commonly referred to as ‘MMS’) message; or
“(iii) a rich communication service (commonly referred to as ‘RCS’) message; and
“(C) does not include a real-time, 2-way voice or video communication.
“(6) The term video conference call means a real-time, video or audio communication between 2 or more individuals but does not include a telephone call with no video capabilities.”
Required disclosure for telemarketing using artificial intelligence— Section 3(a)(3) of the Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act (15 U.S.C. 6102(a)(3)) is amended—
in subparagraph (C), by striking “; and” and inserting a comma;
in subparagraph (D), by striking the period at the end and inserting “, and”; and
by inserting after subparagraph (D) the following new paragraph:
“(E) a requirement that any person that makes or transmits a telephone call or text message that employs artificial intelligence to emulate a human being shall promptly and clearly disclose to the person receiving the call or text message that such artificial intelligence is being used.”
in section 227 (47 U.S.C. 227)—
in subsection (a)—
by redesignating paragraphs (1), (2), (3), (4), and (5) as paragraphs (2), (3), (4), (5), and (8), respectively;
by inserting before paragraph (2), as so redesignated, the following:
“(1) The term artificial or prerecorded voice includes any technological representation of speech or conduct that—
“(A) is generated—
“(i) by any machine or computer; or
“(ii) through the use of artificial intelligence; and
“(B) appears to authentically depict the speech or conduct of an individual who did not actually engage in that speech or conduct.”
in paragraph (2), as so redesignated—
in subparagraph (A), by inserting after “called” the following: “(or to have text messages sent to)”; and
in subparagraph (B), by inserting “, or send text messages to,” after “to dial”; and
by inserting after paragraph (5), as so redesignated, the following:
“(6) The term text message—
“(A) means a message consisting of text, images, sounds, or other information that is transmitted—
“(i) to or from a device that is identified as the receiving or transmitting device by means of a 10-digit telephone number, N11 service code, short code telephone number, or email address; or
“(ii) through application-to-person messaging;
“(B) includes—
“(i) a short message service (commonly referred to as “SMS”) message;
“(ii) a multimedia message service (commonly referred to as “MMS”) message; or
“(iii) a rich communication service (commonly referred to as “RCS”) message; and
“(C) does not include a real-time, 2-way voice or video communication.
“(7) The term text messaging service means a service that enables the transmission or receipt of a text message, including a service provided as part of or in connection with a voice service.”
in subsection (b)(1)—
in subparagraph (A), in the matter preceding clause (i)—
by inserting “or send any text message” after “make any call”; and
by inserting “or text message” after “(other than a call”;
in subparagraph (B), by striking “residential”; and
in subparagraph (C), in the matter preceding clause (i), by inserting “or to a mobile device as a text message,” after “to send, to a telephone facsimile machine,”; and
by adding at the end the following:
“(k) Disclosures regarding the use of artificial intelligence—If a person makes or transmits a call, or sends a text message, that is delivered using an automatic telephone dialing system, or that uses artificial intelligence to emulate a human being, the person shall include a disclosure at the beginning of the call or text message disclosing the fact that the automatic telephone dialing system or artificial intelligence, as applicable, is being used in that manner.”
in section 230(e) (47 U.S.C. 230(e)), by adding at the end the following:
“(6) No effect on the Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act—Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the application of the Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act (15 U.S.C. 6101 et seq.) or part 310 of title 16, Code of Federal Regulations (or any successor regulations).”
Sec. 5 Reporting and other improvements
Improving reporting and increasing awareness of Artificial Intelligence and other scams— The Federal Trade Commission, in consultation with the Attorney General and the Federal Communications Commission, may—
as soon as practicable after the date of enactment of this Act, update the web portal of the Federal Trade Commission to include the latest information, searchable by region and type of scam, on scams enabled by artificial intelligence, including contacts for relevant law enforcement and adult protective service agencies;
establish procedures to—
log and acknowledge the receipt of complaints by individuals who believe they have been a victim of mail, television, internet, telemarketing, and robocall fraud in the Consumer Sentinel Network, and shall make those complaints immediately available to Federal, State, and local law enforcement authorities; and
provide to individuals described in subparagraph (A), and to any other persons, specific and general information on mail, television, internet, telemarketing, and robocall fraud, including descriptions of the most common schemes using such methods of communication; and
work with media outlets and law enforcement to distribute the information included in the web portal of the Federal Trade Commission pursuant to paragraph (1) to senior citizens and their families and caregivers.
FTC and FCC joint Artificial Intelligence Scam Prevention Advisory Group—
Establishment— There is established an Artificial Intelligence Scams Advisory Group (referred to in this subsection as the “Advisory Group”).
Members—
In general— The Advisory Group shall be composed of the following individuals or the designees of those individuals:
The Chair of the Federal Trade Commission.
The Chair of the Federal Communications Commission.
The Secretary of the Treasury.
The Attorney General.
The Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Representatives from each of the following sectors, including trade associations, to be selected by the Federal Trade Commission in consultation with the Federal Communications Commission:
Retail.
Gift cards.
Telecommunications (including voice over internet protocol service providers).
Wire-transfer services.
Consumer advocacy organizations focused on preventing consumer scams.
Chair— The Advisory Group shall be chaired by the Chair of the Federal Trade Commission and the Chair of the Federal Communications Commission.
No compensation for members— A member of the Advisory Group shall serve without compensation in addition to any compensation received for the service of the member as an officer or employee of the United States, if applicable.
Duties—
In general— The Advisory Group shall—
collect information on the existence, use, and success of educational materials and programs for retailers, financial services, and wire-transfer companies, which—
are used as a guide to educate employees on how to identify and prevent scams that are enabled by artificial intelligence; and
include—
useful information for retailers, financial services, and wire transfer companies for the purpose described in subclause (I);
training for employees on ways to identify and prevent scams;
best practices for keeping employees up to date on current scams;
the most effective signage and placement of signage in retail locations to warn about the use of gift cards, prepaid cards, and wire transfer services by scammers;
best practices for collaborative community education campaigns;
available technology to assist in identifying possible scams at the point of sale; and
other information that is helpful to retailers, wire transfer companies, financial institutions, and their employees as they work to prevent scams; and
based on the findings in clause (i)—
identify inadequacies, omissions, or deficiencies in those educational materials and programs for the purposes listed in such clause and their execution in teaching employees to protect consumers; and
create model materials, best practices, guidance, or recommendations to fill those inadequacies, omissions, or deficiencies that may be used by industry and others to help protect consumers from scams.
Encouraged use— The Chair of the Federal Trade Commission and the Chair of the Federal Communications Commission shall—
make the materials or guidance created by the Advisory Group publicly available; and
encourage the use and distribution of the materials or guidance created by the Advisory Group to government agencies and the private sector to prevent scams affecting consumers.
Report— Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter until the date described in paragraph (6), the Advisory Group shall submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives a report on the work of the Advisory Group, together with the recommendations of the Advisory Group for such legislation and administrative actions as the Advisory Group considers appropriate.
Termination— The Advisory Group shall terminate on the date that is 5 years after the date of enactment of this Act.
FTC report on Artificial Intelligence enabled scams— Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Federal Trade Commission shall submit to Congress a report that includes—
a description of the number and types of scams identified by the Federal Trade Commission that use artificial intelligence; and
policy recommendations to prevent such scams, especially as such scams relate to voice clone impersonation.
Annual report to Congress on robocalls and transmission of misleading or inaccurate caller identification information—
in subparagraph (A)—
in clause (i), by striking “that a consumer received a call in violation” and inserting “a violation”;
in clause (ii), by striking “that a consumer received a call in violation” and inserting “a violation”; and
in clause (iii), by striking “that a consumer received a call in connection with which misleading or inaccurate caller identification information was transmitted in violation” and inserting “a violation”;
in subparagraph (F), by striking “calls made in violation” and inserting “violations”; and
in subparagraph (G)—
by inserting “(or high-volume, unlawful text messages)” after “unlawful, short-duration calls”; and
by striking “calls made in violation” each place that term appears and inserting “violations”.
Information sharing— Section 227(i) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 227(i)) is amended—
by striking paragraph (2);
by striking “Sharing” in the subsection heading and all that follows through “Not later than” and inserting the following: “Sharing.—Not later than”; and
by redesignating subparagraphs (A) and (B) as paragraphs (1) and (2), respectively, and adjusting the margins accordingly.
Robocall blocking service— Section 227(j) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 227(j)) is amended—
by striking paragraph (2);
by striking “Service” in the subsection heading and all that follows through “Not later than” and inserting the following: “Service.—Not later than”;
by redesignating subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C), as paragraphs (1), (2), and (3), respectively, and adjusting the margins accordingly; and
by redesignating clauses (i) and (ii) as subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively, and adjusting the margins accordingly.
Regulations— Not later than 270 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Federal Communications Commission shall promulgate regulations to implement the amendments made by this subsection.