The Federal Communications Commission will vote on November 19 on rules that would allow prisons to use cellphone signal jamming, a practice generally banned under US law, Chairman Brendan Carr announced.
The FCC will vote on November 19 on rules that would allow prisons to use radiofrequency jammers, which are generally banned under Section 333 of the Communications Act of 1934. Carr has noted the devices have already been permitted at some federal facilities.
Announcing the vote, Carr said the jammers are needed because "For years, thousands upon thousands of contraband cellphones have been pouring into prisons, and some of the worst possible offenders have been using them to order hits, coordinate violent gang activity, and aid criminal enterprises."
Analysis
Why This Matters
- The vote would carve a new exception into a US ban on radiofrequency jamming that dates to the Communications Act of 1934.
- Prisons could gain a new tool against smuggled phones, which officials say are used to direct serious crimes from inside facilities.
- Because jammers block radio signals over a physical area rather than device by device, the rules will decide how the FCC weighs prison security against disruption to legitimate mobile use nearby.
Background
The Communications Act of 1934 prohibits deliberate interference with licensed radio signals, and the FCC has long treated jammers as illegal except in narrow circumstances. Carr has said jammers are already permitted at some federal facilities, and the coming vote would extend the practice to prisons. The announcement follows years of official concern, voiced by Carr, about contraband phones reaching incarcerated people and being used to coordinate serious crimes.
What to Watch
- The outcome of the November 19 commission vote.
- The conditions the final rules attach to prison jamming, including which facilities qualify.
- Whether the new authority draws legal challenges, given the long-standing general ban on jammers.
Checked
6 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 5 supported.
Show each claim
- SupportedThe FCC will vote on rules allowing prisons to jam cellphone signals.The Verge: “the agency will vote on November 19th on rules that would allow prisons to use signal jamming.”
- SupportedChairman Brendan Carr says jammers are needed because contraband phones are used to order hits and coordinate gang activity.The Verge: “Carr claims in a statement that jammers are needed because”
- Partly supportedCarr said: “For years, thousands upon thousands of contraband cellphones have been pouring into prisons, and some of the worst possible offenders have been using them to order hits, coordinate violent gang activity, and aid criminal enterprises.”The Verge: “Carr claims in a statement that jammers are needed because "For years, thousands upon thousands of contraband cellphones have been pouring into prisons, and some of the worst possible offenders have been using them to order hits, coordinate violent gang activity, and aid criminal enterprises."”
- SupportedThe FCC vote is scheduled for November 19.The Verge: “the agency will vote on November 19th”
- SupportedRadiofrequency jammers are generally banned under Section 333 of the Communications Act of 1934.The Verge: “Radiofrequency jammers are generally banned under Section 333 and the Communications Act of 1934, with few exceptions”
- SupportedCarr has noted that jammers have already been permitted at some federal facilities.The Verge: “Carr has noted they've been permitted for use at some federal facilities already.”