Groups Concerned About Prisoners Defend FCC Calling Order
The National Consumer Law Center and others representing the interests of prisoners and their families filed in support of the FCC’s July order implementing the Martha Wright-Reed Act of 2022 in an amicus brief filed Thursday at the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals (24-8028).
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“While most Americans rely on market competition to ensure reasonably priced telecommunications service, incarcerated people and their families are left with no meaningful choice,” said the brief, also signed by the Electronic Privacy Information Center, the Prison Policy Initiative and the Utility Reform Network.
“Historically, most correctional facilities have issued [prison-calling] contracts that allow the facility to obtain a portion of the revenue collected from consumers; as a result, both the provider and the correctional facility are incentivized to impose high prices on consumers who have no other alternative,” the groups said: The FCC “adhered to the relevant statutory text and Congressional intent by appropriately using its regulatory authority to implement the” Martha Wright-Reed Act.