Decades Late, The FCC Might Start Cracking Down On Terrible Telecom Prison Monopolies. Maybe.
from the do-not-pass-go,-do-not-collect-$200 dept
However terrible telecom monopolies are in the free world, they’re arguably worse in prisons. For decades, journalists have outlined how a select number of prison telecom giants like Securus have enjoyed a cozy, government-kickback based monopoly over prison phone and teleconferencing services, resulting sky high rates (upwards of $14 per minute) for inmate families.
Efforts to do something about it were scuttled by FCC boss Ajit Pai, whose former clients included Securus. Pai not only routinely opposed efforts by ex-FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn to drive change in the prison telco sector, one of his very first acts as FCC boss was to pull the rugs out from underneath his own lawyers as they tried to support those reforms in court (they, as intended, lost).
Fortunately for inmate families, things finally shifted thanks to the passage of the Martha Wright-Reed Act, which quietly amended the Communications Act to give the FCC the authority to “ensure just and reasonable charges for telephone and advanced communications services in correctional and detention facilities.”
The legislative update removes a loophole that prevented the FCC from taking action against the $1.4 billion prison telecom industry, whose members (like Securus) have also routinely found themselves facing scandals for recording privileged communications between inmates and their lawyers, then covertly sharing it with law enforcement.
“I am committed to working with my colleagues on the Commission to expeditiously move
new rules forward to fix this problem,” FCC boss Jessica Rosenworcel said in a statement. “I also want to highlight the late Martha Wright-Reed for her courageous voice and thank my former colleague Mignon Clyburn for carrying this issue forward at the FCC.”
Granted the FCC still has to actually take action, not exactly its strong suit when it comes to lumbering telecom giants with powerful lawyers. And that’s before you factor in the fact that the agency still lacks a functioning voting majority thanks to the sustained, telecom-industry backed campaign against Biden FCC nominee Gigi Sohn, a battle that will extend well into 2023.
Filed Under: exorbitant phone rates, fcc, inmates, monopolies, phone, prisons, social justice, telecom
Comments on “Decades Late, The FCC Might Start Cracking Down On Terrible Telecom Prison Monopolies. Maybe.”
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Yellowstone Jackets
dbbbbbbbbbb
I’m sure everyone cries themselves to sleep worrying about the imprisoned felons being exploited by the big bad telecom cos. 🙄
$14 a min?
Guess I’ll have to kock over a couple of liquor stores so I can afford talking to my cousin who’s in prison
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