You’d be forgiven for falling behind on your federal regulatory news this past month. But amid the chaos of an assassination attempt on the Republican nominee, the self-removal of the Democratic nominee, the meme-ification of the current vice-president, and a flat Diet Mountain Dew joke from her would-be successor, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) passed a historic measure that will change the lives of millions of incarcerated people and their loved ones.

For decades, activists and lawmakers have fought to reduce the cost of calls from prison. As I wrote about in 2021, many prisoners and their loved ones have paid as much as a dollar or more per minute to stay in touch. This exorbitant cost has disproportionately driven women and people of color into debt, while the correctional telecom industry – about 80% of which is controlled by just two companies – extracted over $1.4bn a year.

Under the FCC’s new rule, this exploitative environment is finally changing. The cost of a phone call from prison will be capped at 6 cents per minute, and video call charges won’t exceed 16 cents per minute. Rates will vary in jails depending on population size, but the implication remains the same: in America, incarcerated people can no longer be gouged for wanting to connect with their loved ones.

That’s the immediate benefit. Over the long term, the FCC’s new rule has the potential to open another........

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