The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will also consider adopting rules that would end exorbitant charges for phone and video calls made by incarcerated people in correctional facilities throughout the U.S.
According to a press release issued in late June, the proposed rules would significantly lower existing per-minute rate caps for out-of-state and international audio calls from any type of correctional facility while also applying those same caps to in-state audio calls. The proposed rules would also establish interim per-minute rate caps for video communications, as well as eliminate the imposition of separate ancillary service charges for phone and video communications.
The Commission’s actions fall under the scope of the Martha Wright-Reed Just and Reasonable Communications Act of 2022, which empowered the Commission to close existing loopholes that had previously prevented it from taking action. A vote on the Commission’s new rules is expected at the Commission’s next Open Meeting in mid-July.
Read the FCC’s press release on its plans to end exorbitant phone and video call rates for the incarcerated.
