Today the @FCC unanimously adopted a proposal that would lower phone rates for out-of-state calls for prisons and jails. They also voted to prohibit telephone companies from charging arbitrary fees to families. So why is this necessary? A thread: #phonejustice

For context, phone calls from prisons are expensive, with some facilities charging families over $1/min. In some states like Arkansas and Wisconsin families pay over $20 for 15min

Check out @PrisonPolicy report on state of #phonejustice https://www.prisonpolicy.org/phones/state_of_phone_justice.html

Jails & prisons contract private companies to deliver phone service. In many states, contracts include kickbacks to the state or local government. Meaning, contracts are given to companies who can generate the most revenue, not necessarily who has the cheapest rate. #phonejustice

The two biggest players in this market are Global Tel Link and Securus. Like the rest of the media ecosystem, this industry has gone through a lot of mergers in the last two decades. H/T to @PrisonPolicy for the visual.

The prison telephone business is a $1.2 billion industry. All this wealth is being generated off the backs of families and their incarcerated loved ones with the highest burden falling on Black and Latinx families. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/nov/26/theyre-profiting-off-pain-the-push-to-rein-in-the-12bn-prison-phone-industry

The proposal the @FCC voted on today will prohibit companies from charging excessive fees. Which is a good thing because this is the primary way telephone companies exploit families. Even a CEO of a prison telephone company told the FCC this in 2014 #phonejustice

The FCC is proposing to lower out of state rates to below $.15/min. This is a good thing but out of state calls only represent 20% of all prison calls. And knowing how predatory this industry is, without regulating all rates, companies will just increase local rates #phonejustice

So today is a good step towards #phonejustice, but it's not first the time the FCC has tried to regulate this industry. Today is only possible because of the thousands of families who have shared their stories, like that of Luisa

Today is only possible because of the courage from leaders to stand up for families and their incarcerated loved ones. People like former FCC Commissioner @MignonClyburn, who championed this issue at a time when few cared.

Today is here because groups continue to put the pressure on the FCC to deliver #phonejustice and #right2connect. Groups like @WorthRises and @UCCMediaJustice. Check out UCC's statement on today's FCC proposal http://uccmediajustice.org/p/salsa/web/blog/public/?blog_entry_KEY=7833

Regulating this industry is far overdue, and we are in a moment in this pandemic and beyond where staying connected matters more than making money. I deeply support the movement to make these phone calls free, because communications is a right, not a privilege. #phonejustice