A political group wants the FCC to let campaigns send AI robocalls to cell phones without permission before November. A watchdog says the FCC should say no.
A group called Club for Growth has asked the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for permission to send unsolicited political robocalls, including ones made with artificial intelligence, to cell phones before the November 2026 general election. The Campaign Legal Center, a watchdog group, filed a comment urging the FCC to reject the request.
A robocall is a call that plays an automated audio recording. Federal law bars robocalls to cell phones unless the person has agreed to get them. Club for Growth petitioned the FCC in August 2026 for an exemption to that consent rule for political calls. The Campaign Legal Center describes Club for Growth as a politically active dark money group that does not disclose its donors.
The Campaign Legal Center points to what happened in New Hampshire in January 2024. Two days before the presidential primary, Democratic primary voters got robocalls that sounded like then-President Joe Biden. They were fakes made with AI. The voice told people to save their vote for the November general election, which left many unsure whether they could vote in both.
Election officials had about 48 hours to correct the message. Law enforcement later traced the calls to a political consultant and a telecommunications company, and the FCC fined them heavily. The group says the harm to voters who missed their chance to vote was already done.
The Campaign Legal Center cites several figures about public worry over AI in politics:
If the FCC granted the exemption, political groups could send automated calls to your cell phone without your consent. Some could use AI voices. The Campaign Legal Center argues that a rule change this close to Election Day would leave officials no time to fight false information spread by such calls.
The material does not say when the FCC will decide or how it is leaning. The Campaign Legal Center is asking it to reaffirm that unsolicited political robocalls to cell phones are illegal. The arguments here come from that group, which opposes the petition.
The FCC has not yet decided whether political AI robocalls could reach cell phones without consent, and one watchdog says the answer should be no.
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