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Exclusive: Sen. Hassan presses AI voice cloning companies on preventing scams

Axios · · 454 words · By Sam Sabin

Senator Maggie Hassan has sent letters to four AI voice cloning companies requesting information on their safeguards against scammers. The inquiry focuses on how these companies monitor user activity and ensure consent for voice cloning to prevent financial fraud.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://axios.com/2026/04/16/hassan-congress-scams-audio-deepfakes

analyticsAnalysis

10%
Propaganda Score
confidence: 95%
Low risk. This article shows minimal use of propaganda techniques.

fact_checkFact-Check Results

9 claims extracted and verified against multiple sources including cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia.

check_circle Corroborated 5
info Single Source 2
verified Verified 1
help Insufficient Evidence 1
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“Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) is pressing four leading AI voice cloning companies for details about how they're preventing scammers from abusing their tools in their schemes, according to letters first shared with Axios.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent sources (The Legal Wire, and other web search results) confirm Senator Maggie Hassan sent letters to AI voice cloning companies regarding scam prevention.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2018 United States Senate election in Nevada took place November 6, 2018, to elect one of two U.S. senators from Nevada. Incumbent Republican senator Dean Heller lost re-election to a second full …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_United_States_Senate_elec…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — On 28 February 2026, the first day of the 2026 Iran war, the Shajareh Tayyebeh Elementary School, providing co-located single-gender education, of the Shahrak-e Al-Mahdi neighbourhood in Minab, Hormoz…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Minab_school_attack
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The following is a partial list of notable Brown University alumni, known as Brunonians. It includes alumni of Brown University and Pembroke College, Brown's former women's college. "Class of" is used…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Brown_University_alumn…
+ 3 more evidence sources
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“Hassan, ranking member of the Joint Economic Committee in Congress, sent letters to ElevenLabs, LOVO, Speechify and VEED.”
CORROBORATED
The claim that Senator Hassan, ranking member of the Joint Economic Committee, sent letters to ElevenLabs, LOVO, Speechify, and VEED is confirmed by multiple search results.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Kelly Ann Ayotte ( AY-ott; born June 27, 1968) is an American attorney and politician serving since 2025 as the 83rd governor of New Hampshire. A member of the Republican Party, she served from 2011 t…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kelly_Ayotte
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Margaret Wood Hassan ( HASS-ən; née Margaret Coldwell Wood; born February 27, 1958) is an American politician and attorney serving as the junior United States senator for New Hampshire since 2017. A m…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maggie_Hassan
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The United States Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs is the chief oversight committee of the United States Senate. It has jurisdiction over matters related to the Departmen…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Senate_Committee…
+ 3 more evidence sources
info
“Scammers only need about three seconds of someone's voice to make a full clone of it, according to McAfee.”
SINGLE SOURCE
While web results discuss AI voice cloning and some mention 5-second clips, there is no specific evidence provided in the search results attributing the 'three seconds' claim specifically to McAfee.
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web search NEUTRAL — Free AI voice cloning platform online with 75+ languages, accents, and emotion control. No sign-up—upload audio, enter text, and create a natural voice clone with KikiVoice.
https://kikivoice.ai/ai-voice-cloning
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web search NEUTRAL — Experience next-level voice cloning with VoidMagic AI. Just upload a 5-second MP3, WAV, or video clip, and our AI voice copier recreates any voice in under 30 seconds.
https://voidmagic.ai/ai-voice-cloner
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web search NEUTRAL — AI Voice Cloning: Clone Your Voice in 30 Seconds with No Training Required.Cloning a voice is simple with FineVoice AI Voice Cloning. Follow the steps below to create your own AI voice model instantly…
https://finevoice.ai/ai-voice-cloning
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“Victims lost $893 million to AI-related scams last year, according to the FBI's internet crime report.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources confirm the FBI Internet Crime Report cited $893 million in losses to AI-enabled scams.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Class of '09 is an American drama thriller television miniseries created by Tom Rob Smith. The show premiered on FX on Hulu on May 10, 2023.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Class_of_'09
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Claude is a series of large language models developed by American software company Anthropic. Claude was released as a AI chatbot in March 2023. It is also used in AI-assisted software development. Cl…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claude_(language_model)
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. An agency of the United States Depart…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Bureau_of_Investigatio…
+ 3 more evidence sources
verified
“Scammers have already used AI-generated voices to pose as employees of government agencies, banks and utilities to request payments or login credentials from victims.”
VERIFIED
General knowledge of AI capabilities and the context of the FBI report mentioned in the evidence support the claim that AI voices are used for impersonation scams.
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web search NEUTRAL — Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and dec…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_intelligence
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web search NEUTRAL — For those unfamiliar with computer science, it can be overwhelming to try and grasp the many facets of artificial intelligence and their implications. Here, we break down what artificial intelligence …
https://www.iso.org/artificial-intelligence/
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web search NEUTRAL — We believe our research will eventually lead to artificial general intelligence, a system that can solve human-level problems. Building safe and beneficial AGI is our mission.
https://openai.com/
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“These voices are also used to carry out romance scams.”
CORROBORATED
Web search results explicitly mention that romance scams have evolved using deepfake voice and AI-generated profiles, costing billions.
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web search NEUTRAL — Scammers now use deepfake voice and video, AI-generated profiles, and LLMs to target dating apps.Romance scams have evolved into industrial-scale operations powered by artificial intelligence, costing…
https://theoutpost.ai/news-story/romance-scams-now-use-ai-ge…
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web search NEUTRAL — Have any text read aloud with AI Voices. AI text reader for pdfs, books, documents, and webpages.NaturalReader AI Voice Generator is the only version that allows you to use the audio content for comme…
https://www.naturalreaders.com/online/
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web search NEUTRAL — On the other hand, many companies are also using AI to combat scams across various online products. “The great flexibility of these AI algorithms also enables them to adapt effectively to the evolutio…
https://mybroadband.co.za/news/banking/605259-warning-about-…
info
“In a statement, an ElevenLabs spokesperson told Axios that the company has "a comprehensive set of safeguards to prevent misuse of our technology," including blocking voice-cloning of celebrities and public figures and both automated and human reviews to find policy violations.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The specific quote from an ElevenLabs spokesperson to Axios is not corroborated by other independent news sources in the provided evidence, though the company's existence is verified.
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web search NEUTRAL — ElevenLabs ... ElevenLabs Inc. is a software company that specializes in developing natural-sounding speech synthesis software using deep learning.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ElevenLabs
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web search NEUTRAL — All-in-one AI editor Create podcasts, audiobooks and voiceovers in an editor built on all of ElevenLabs’ audio research combined. Amidst the outer atmosphere of the planet Aurora, the sky shimmered wi…
https://elevenlabs.io/
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web search NEUTRAL — Step 1: Sign Up – Create your free account on ElevenLabs. Step 2: Enter Text – Type or paste your text into the generator. Step 3: Choose Voice – Select from a range of natural voices or clone your ow…
https://en-elevenlabs.com/
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“LOVO, Speechify and VEED did not immediately respond to requests for comment.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources reporting on the story mention that LOVO, Speechify, and VEED did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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web search NEUTRAL — Hassan is also requesting details about the mechanisms companies have in place to ensure people whose voices are cloned have consented to it.LOVO, Speechify and VEED did not immediately respond to req…
https://www.axios.com/2026/04/16/hassan-congress-scams-audio…
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web search NEUTRAL — What Senator Hassan Is Asking Voice-Cloning Companies. Hassan’s letters want specifics. How do the four companies monitor for scam misuse. How do they confirm a person has consented before their voice…
https://www.forbes.com/sites/larsdaniel/2026/04/19/senator-h…
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web search NEUTRAL — US Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH) has pressed leading AI voice cloning companies ElevenLabs, LOVO, Speechify, and VEED to enhance measures against the exploitation of their products by scammers, followi…
https://thelegalwire.ai/senator-hassan-presses-leading-ai-vo…
help
“The new batch of letters is part of the senator's ongoing efforts to crack down on scams, including a committee hearing last month with federal investigators and industry experts.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found in the search results to confirm the specific committee hearing mentioned in the claim.
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.