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John Bowers

John Bowers is an associate in the firm’s Washington, DC office. He is a member of the Data Privacy and Cybersecurity Practice Group and the Technology and Communications Regulation Practice Group.

John advises clients on a wide range of privacy and communications issues, including compliance with telecommunications regulations and U.S. state and federal privacy laws.

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On Thursday, July 25, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) proposing new requirements for radio and television broadcasters and certain other licensees that air political ads containing content created using artificial intelligence (AI).  The NPRM was approved on a 3-2 party-line vote and comes in the wake of an announcement made by FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel earlier this summer about the need for such requirements, which we discussed here. 

At the core of the NPRM are two proposed requirements.  First, parties subject to the rules would have to announce on-air that a political ad (whether a candidate-sponsored ad or an “issue ad” purchased by a political action committee) was created using AI.  Second, those parties would have to include a note in their online political files for political ads containing AI-generated content disclosing the use of such content.  Additional key features of the NPRM are described below.Continue Reading FCC Proposes Labeling and Disclosure Rules for AI-Generated Content in Political Ads

On March 7, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced amendments to its Telemarketing Sales Rule (“TSR”) to apply certain of its provisions to business-to-business telemarketing calls, and to broaden its recordkeeping requirements.  The FTC also announced a notice of proposed rulemaking (“NPRM”) that would further extend the TSR to cover inbound telemarketing calls involving technical support services. Continue Reading FTC Amends its Telemarketing Sales Rule; Proposes Additional Changes

On February 8, 2024, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a declaratory ruling stating that Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) restrictions on making phone calls using an “artificial or prerecorded voice” “encompass current AI technologies that generate human voices.”  Therefore, unless an exemption applies, telemarketing calls using an artificial or prerecorded voice simulated or generated…

Continue Reading FCC Confirms TCPA “Artificial or Prerecorded Voice” Restrictions Apply to AI Technologies that Generate Human Voices

On January 16, the attorneys general of 25 states – including California, Illinois, and Washington – and the District of Columbia filed reply comments to the Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC) November Notice of Inquiry on the implications of artificial intelligence (AI) technology for efforts to mitigate robocalls and robotexts. 

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA)…

Continue Reading State Attorneys General to FCC: Subject AI-Generated Voice Calls to TCPA Restrictions

On January 30, 2024, the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) published a request for information (RFI) soliciting public input on how agencies can be more effective in their use of privacy impact assessments (PIAs) to mitigate privacy risks, including those “exacerbated by artificial intelligence (AI).”  The RFI notes that federal agencies may develop…

Continue Reading OMB Publishes Request for Information on Agency Privacy Impact Assessments

On Wednesday, December 13, 2023, the Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) launched a public engagement effort related to its review of the risks and benefits of certain highly-capable artificial intelligence (AI) models.  Among the issues that NTIA will examine to assess these risks and benefits are the model weights that “open” (i.e., publicly available) AI models use to generate model outputs. Continue Reading NTIA Launches Public Engagement Effort Related to AI Executive Order

On November 1, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) released a Notice of Inquiry (“NOI”) that will initiate an assessment into the availability and quality of broadband service nationwide.  The assessment, which is required by statute, will rely on information generated by the FCC’s new Broadband Data Collection (“BDC”) to evaluate progress towards broadband universal service goals.  The NOI requests detailed public input on how the FCC should define and evaluate these goals based on the BDC data and other inputs.Continue Reading FCC Releases Notice of Inquiry into Broadband Speed Benchmark and Related Issues