In Gift to Private Prisons and Telecom Giants, Trump FCC Jacks Up Price of Inmate Phone Calls

The Federal Communications Commission, an agency controlled by appointees of US President Donald Trump, voted Tuesday to raise the maximum price for prison phone calls—a gift to telecom firms and private prison giants that profit from what critics have long described as predatory charges.

The agency's 2-1 vote rolled back a Biden-era cap on the price of prison phone calls, a limit that the FCC estimated would have collectively saved incarcerated people and their loved ones hundreds of millions of dollars a year. The Equal Justice Initiative noted earlier this year that "many families struggle with the high cost of phone calls and video visits, which are especially critical for people incarcerated far away from their families."

"Staying connected can cost families as much as $500 per month, and more than one in three families reported going into debt or going without food, medical care, and other basic needs to stay in touch with their loved ones," the group said.

The FCC, led by Trump loyalist Brendan Carr, also raised the possibility of revoking a Biden-era ban on telecom commission payments to jails and prisons. According to Bloomberg, the agency "reopened the topic for public comment on Tuesday."

Popular Information reported earlier this year that "the high cost of prison phone calls is a cash windfall for the private prison industry, which spent vast sums to help elect Trump president."

"The companies that provide prison telephone services offer kickbacks, known as 'commissions,' to prison operators to secure lucrative contracts," the outlet noted. "This means up to 50% of the money incarcerated people spend on telephone calls is routed back to the company or government that operates the prison. This system incentivizes prison operators to award contracts to companies that charge exorbitant fees, creating a larger pool of money for kickbacks."

Telecom companies that provide services to jails and prisons are also poised to benefit from the FCC's move. Bloomberg observed that the agency's Tuesday vote was "a boon for telecom providers such as ViaPath Technologies and Aventiv Technologies," both of which complained to the FCC that the Biden-era price cap would have devastated their businesses.

Anna Gomez, the lone Democratic commissioner on the FCC, condemned the agency's vote as "indefensible."

"It implements an egregious transfer of wealth from families in incredibly vulnerable situations to greedy monopoly companies that seek to squeeze every penny out of them," said Gomez, who voted against the price cap increase.