WASHINGTON — In a sweeping show of opposition, nearly 15,000 individuals and more than 100 public interest organizations are calling on the Federal Communications Commission to reinstate critical caps on prison phone rates after the agency suspended protections earlier this summer.
On Monday, Worth Rises, a nonprofit working to end the exploitation of incarcerated people and their families, released a statement urging the FCC to rescind its June 30 Suspension Order. The order, issued by the FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau, revoked regulations under the Martha Wright-Reed Just and Reasonable Communications Act that had lowered the maximum cost of prison phone calls.
The organization said a mass coalition of directly impacted families, faith leaders, and advocacy groups submitted both collective and individual comments demanding the FCC reverse the order.
This push comes after several organizations, including the United Church of Christ Media Justice Ministry, Worth Rises, and the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, filed an Application for Review on June 30 asking the FCC to overturn the Bureau’s decision. The FCC set an Aug. 29 deadline for opposition comments and a Sept. 15 deadline for responses.
“Families have fought for decades to curb predatory prison telecom rates, and Congress finally delivered progress when it issued a unanimous, bipartisan mandate through the Martha Wright-Reed Act, which the FCC implemented with carefully considered regulations,” said Bianca Tylek, executive director of Worth Rises. “For the FCC’s Wireline Bureau to now suddenly delay, and even suggest it will strip away, these hard-won protections without proper public comment opportunity is not only cruel but unlawful.”
Tylek added, “Nearly 15,000 families and their allies have joined faith leaders and advocates across the country in vocalizing their opposition to this delay by filing comments, and it is critical that the Commission listen, especially as it makes claims that it seeks to protect these very same families with its recent decision. The FCC must act swiftly to restore the regulations on the original implementation timeline, respecting Congress’ mandate and putting families first.”
The original protections, Worth Rises explained, had reduced the cost of a 15-minute phone call from as high as $11.35 in large jails and $12.10 in small jails to $0.90 and $1.35 respectively.
Advocates argue that suspending the rules leaves families vulnerable to predatory call rates that damage family stability, rehabilitation, and successful reentry into society.
“We hope this letter will be effective, but recent federal court filings by the FCC lead us to believe that it will go unheard,” said Cheryl Leanza, policy advisor for the United Church of Christ Media Justice Ministry.
Leanza added, “The FCC recently stated in a court filing that it will hold a Commission-level vote at the end of October and that it will likely permanently strip away these critical protections. The Trump FCC’s abrupt abandonment of consumers preyed upon by the deeply immoral and broken carceral communications sector—after it initially defended the protections—is a devastating and unexplained betrayal.”
Advocates are urging the FCC to immediately rescind the Wireline Competition Bureau’s order and restore the protections passed unanimously by Congress.
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