UPDATE: On Thursday, April 17, the FCC GRANTED the request we made in the letter we filed last week! Talton’s highly redacted request for waiver from the new rate caps and consumer protections for incarcerated communications services will be paused indefinitely. With a few exceptions, the FCC’s rules are in effect across the country, benefiting incarcerated people and their loved ones as of April 1, 2025.
UCC Media Justice, alongside several other advocacy organizations, recently filed a letter at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) opposing Talton Communications’ attempt to avoid critical new consumer protections for incarcerated communications services. Talton, the primary phone service provider for U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE), is asking the FCC to avoid the FCC’s rate caps. Unfortunately, most of Talton’s waiver petition is blacked out (see photos below), making it nearly impossible for the public to understand or respond.
While withholding some competitively sensitive information can be legitimate, Talton’s highly redacted petition means the public does not know what rules it wants to avoid or for how long. Anyone who wants to see the full scope of the company’s claims must sign a protective order, which can be a significant hurdle for smaller organizations and concerned community members. This means that advocates striving to keep phone rates affordable for people in detention may never get a fair chance to weigh in.
UCC Media Justice, joined by Asian Americans Advancing Justice – AAJC, Electronic Privacy Information Center, National Consumer Law Center (on behalf of its low-income clients), National Immigrant Justice Center, New Jersey Policy Perspective, Prison Policy Initiative, and Worth Rises, is urging the FCC to make Talton release a version of its petition that doesn’t hide essential details. They argue that all stakeholders—especially those representing individuals held by ICE—deserve a fair opportunity to comment. The letter also notes that FCC regulations explicitly require phone providers to disclose their rates publicly on their websites, something Talton appears not to be doing.
To address these issues, UCC Media Justice and its co-signers have asked the FCC to give Talton a clear directive: submit a non-redacted public filing that shows what they are actually seeking. Once Talton complies, the groups also want the FCC to add an extra 30 days for the public to review the revised petition before commenting. Without these steps, meaningful public participation in such a critical matter is severely hampered.
Ensuring fair, affordable communication for ICE detainees and all incarcerated people is a central goal of the new FCC rules—one that should not be undermined by unjustified secrecy. UCC Media Justice and its allies will continue to push for open, inclusive processes at the FCC and fair rates for everyone.
You can find Talton’s highly redacted petition below:
Then, you can read our recently released guide to the FCC’s new rules on prison phone and video rates here.