Phone calls from prison are finally being capped at 6 cents a minute. But there’s more to do

‘If America’s policies affecting the incarcerated are going to change, America’s perceptions of the incarcerated might have to change first.’ Photograph: Rich Pedroncelli/AP

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.