The Federal Communications Commission will vote on 19 November 2026 to approve regulations permitting prisons to employ signal jamming technology. Under Section 333 and the Communications Act of 1934, radiofrequency jammers are currently prohibited from use.
Brendan Carr, Chairman of the FCC, stated that jammers are necessary 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." Law enforcement officials Tim Griffin and Chris Carr have advocated for this regulatory shift.
Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton introduced the Cellphone Jamming Reform Act of 2025 last year to facilitate these changes. Nearby communities and relevant carriers, FirstNet, public safety coordinators, and 911 authorities must receive advance notice before on-site testing begins.
Anna Gomez, Commissioner, expressed concern regarding the proposal, saying, "While the problem we are trying to address is of critical importance, I worry about the potential unintended consequences of permitting jamming by non-federal actors and permitting jamming equipment to formally enter the American market." Anonymous incarcerated journalists claim the push for jamming is a reaction to inmates using phones to distribute "uncensored reports of civil rights violations to news media in a timely enough manner to deny the creation of cover-ups."
A 2024 Department of Justice investigation into Georgia's prisons previously identified "horrific and inhumane conditions."
