FCC to Vote on Prison Cellphone Jamming

The FCC is scheduled to vote Nov. 19 on rules that would let state and local prisons and jails apply to use cellphone jamming against contraband devices; jamming would be optional and require FCC approval. Supporters, including Arkansas officials and FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, say smuggled phones enable violence and other crimes, including murder-for-hire plots; South Carolina officials have advocated for the change for more than a decade, and Sen. Tom Cotton is urging Congress to codify it. The proposal would require safeguards and testing to prevent signals from reaching beyond designated containment areas. Commissioner Anna Gomez has warned of effects on nearby communities and supported a pilot program, while incarcerated journalists say jamming could obstruct reporting on prison abuses, including evidence that helped prompt a federal investigation into Georgia prisons.