Consumer Reports finds most AI voice cloning tools lack fraud safeguards
Consumer Reports studied six popular voice cloning tools and found that four lacked meaningful safeguards against fraud and unauthorized use. The report identified basic protective measures companies could implement and shared findings with U.S. attorneys general, suggesting some tools may violate consumer protection laws.
What happened
Consumer Reports evaluated voice cloning products from six companies — Descript, ElevenLabs, Lovo, PlayHT, Resemble AI, and Speechify — for safeguards to prevent misuse. Four of the six services required only that users check a box claiming legal rights to the voice being cloned, while two services, Descript and Resemble AI, implemented additional protective measures such as requiring users to record a unique consent script.
Researchers created convincing voice clones using publicly available audio clips with minimal effort on the services with weak safeguards. Consumer Reports shared its findings with attorneys general across the U.S., arguing that some AI voice-cloning tools may already violate consumer protection laws.
Reported impact
According to Consumer Reports policy analyst Grace Gedye, scammers could use these tools to impersonate loved ones in distress or create fake endorsements from celebrities. The tools have the potential to 'supercharge' impersonation scams if adequate safety measures are not put in place.
Index analysis
Consumer Reports identified basic steps companies can take to prevent unauthorized voice cloning, including requiring users to match uploaded audio with a live recording, preventing voices from being made to say scam-related phrases, blocking the cloning of well-known figures like politicians and celebrities, and watermarking AI-generated audio to make it easier to identify deceptive use.
Governance controls
Grace Gedye noted that the Federal Trade Commission has regulations that might cover these tools. Consumer Reports stated that both state and federal consumer protection laws could apply to some AI voice-cloning tools.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.