For Immediate Release: October 30, 2025
Media Contact: media@colorofchange.org

COLOR OF CHANGE DECRIES FCC VOTE TO INCREASE PRICE LIMITS FOR PRISON PHONE AND VIDEO CALLS AFTER PREVIOUS DECISION TO KEEP COSTS FAIR 

NATIONAL –  On Tuesday, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted to dramatically increase the price limit prisons and jails could set for phone and video calls. These higher caps, which are expected to increase costs by 83%, are a reversal of the FCC’s unanimous decision in July 2024 to lower rates of communications and keep services “just and reasonable.”

Color Of Change, in coalition with other racial justice and civil rights groups, has lobbied for lower costs for incarcerated people to connect with loved ones since 2022, when former President Biden signed the Martha Wright-Reed Just and Reasonable Communications Act of 2022 into law. When the FCC took action to implement this legislation unanimously, it was a victory for incarcerated people, as well as their families and friends.

In response to the FCC’s decision, Color Of Change’s Interim Executive Director Portia Allen-Kyle issued the following statement:

“Every dollar added to a prison phone call is a policy choice to profit from pain. The White House is siding with corporate telecom giants over families—undoing progress that made it possible for incarcerated people to stay connected to those who love them. At a time when more people are being jailed for protesting, migrating, or simply surviving, raising these rates expands both the criminalization and the dehumanization of Black and marginalized communities.”

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ABOUT COLOR OF CHANGE:
Color Of Change is the nation’s largest online racial justice organization. We help people respond effectively to injustice in the world around us. As a national online force driven by millions of members, we move decision-makers in corporations and governments to create a more human and less hostile world for Black people in America. Visit www.colorofchange.org.