The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is officially reducing a big burden for American prisoners–the huge cost of prison phone calls. On October 22, the FCC voted to lower the cost of jail and prison phone calls in both and state and federal prisons.

The FCC explained its motivation for changing the rules, disclosing:

Acting on its mandate to ensure that rates for phone calls are just, reasonable and fair for all Americans, the FCC is working to rein in the excessive rates and egregious fees on phone calls paid by some of society’s most vulnerable: people trying to stay in touch with loved ones serving time in jail or prison.

In most cases, inmates’ telephone calling options are limited to one or more of the following calling types: collect, debit account or pre-paid account. Also, incarcerated persons typically may not choose their long distance service provider. These factors, combined with unrestricted long-distance rates, often result in unreasonably high phone bills for inmates’ families.

Currently, phone calls in some prisons can run as high as $14 per minute. Traditionally, prisons or jails have entered into contracts with companies that provide the phone services. Those companies get a chunk of the charges, so there’s motivation to keep upping the prices.

But under the new regulations, phone calls from inmates will be as low as 11 cents per minute in some prisons. Fifteen minute calls, both in state and out state will be capped at $1.65. Additionally, certain service charges will be capped. For example, service charges on Telecommunications Relay Service equipment–equipment that allows deaf or otherwise disabled inmates to make calls–will be prohibited. Flat rate calls will also be eliminated. These new regulations will go into effect in 2016.

These high rates were a hugely prohibitive cost for families who have loved ones in prison. It can break families apart–more than 2.7 million American children have an incarcerated parent. Moreover, it could be dangerous to cut prisoners off from their families. Evidence shows that allowing prisoners to talk to their loved ones can reduce recidivism rates. Cheryl Leanza, an advocate for reforming prison phone policies explained to the Sacramento Bee, “Society and communities are safer because they’re not going to re-offend if they stay connected with a network that can check in with them and make sure they’re alright.” The FCC did a good thing this week by making sure that families can check in with their loved ones–regardless of legal status.

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

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Net neutrality has been an incredibly important and controversial topic in recent months. So many of us use the internet for many important things on a daily basis–whether it be paying bills, completing work, or engaging in much needed Netflix-binging at the end of a long week. One of the great things about the internet is that in a lot of ways it’s a great equalizer–it doesn’t matter if you’re sitting in a mansion or a library, using a brand new Ipad or a desktop that’s past its prime–we all have access. But an end to net neutrality threatens that implicit equality. Which is why a lot of people, including President Barack Obama, have said that they support net neutrality.

The debate over net neutrality revolves around another newly popular term–“internet fast lanes.” Essentially, internet fast lanes are when Internet Service Providers (ISPs) like Comcast, for example, allow various companies to have faster “lanes” of bandwidth. To make it very simple, imagine you’re driving down a five lane highway. Anyone can get all the way into the left lane, the fastest lane, if they like. But then imagine you show up one day and there’s a toll you have to pay to get into that lane. Net neutrality prevents that from happening, and makes sure that a page from, say, Lawstreetmedia.com is able to load just as quickly as any other page. That’s an incredibly simplified version of what internet fast lanes would do, but for a great in depth explanation on net neutrality and internet fast lanes, make sure to check out fellow Law Streeter Eric Essagof’s piece.

A lot of people have argued against fast lanes, arguing that they’re predatory. Due to a series of court decisions, the Federal Communication Commission’s standing rules forbidding ISPs from making fast lanes no longer stand. So the FCC is writing new rules, and no one is entirely sure what they’ll do. Some think they’ll allow fast lanes, others thing that they’ll reclassify certain definitions to make sure that fast lanes aren’t able to become reality.

President Obama weighed in on the debate yesterday, saying:

My appointee, [FCC Chairman] Tom Wheeler, knows my position. Now that he’s there, I can’t just call him up and tell him exactly what to do. But what I’ve been clear about, what the White House has been clear about, is that we expect whatever final rules to emerge to make sure that we’re not creating two or three or four tiers of Internet.

Obama is echoing the sentiment that many people feel, that allowing internet fast lanes is unfair and will really just lead to more money in the pockets of ISPs. It also slows the amazing things that the internet has been able to do. The internet can connect people from all over the globe, and result in innovation and collaboration that would otherwise be near impossible. It can provide a ray of light for a kid somewhere that thinks that he or she is the only one with their particular interests or hobbies. It can provide sources of free education in places where good teachers are hard to come by. As Reed Hastings, a Netflix chief executive, so perfectly put it, “Why are so many people attracted to the concept of net neutrality? Because they fear the loss of the digital commons.” He’s absolutely right–those digital commons bring us closer to an equal playing field, and like Obama, I hope that the FCC remains devoted to net neutrality.

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Anneliese Mahoney (@AMahoney8672) is Lead Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

Featured image courtesy of [Free Press via Flickr]

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post President Obama: Not a Fan of Internet Fast Lanes appeared first on Law Street.