Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares is once again part of a push to authorize cell phone jamming in prisons.
In January 2023, Miyares joined a group of attorneys general from across the U.S. in urging Congress to pass legislation that would allow states to jam contraband cell phones—calling inmate use of these devices one of the most serious challenges facing prison administrators and urging lawmakers to act “quickly.”
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That effort highlighted how smuggled phones facilitate drug trafficking, gang coordination, and assaults. However, legislative momentum stalled amid concerns over signal interference and jurisdictional complications.
Now, two and a half years later, Miyares has aligned with a new coalition in support of an FCC rule that could enable narrowly tailored jamming systems.
The attorneys general argue that such systems would disrupt unauthorized wireless communications within prison boundaries without affecting service outside.
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In a letter to the FCC, the coalition asserts that inmates routinely use smuggled phones to coordinate criminal enterprises, intimidate witnesses, and orchestrate violence both inside and outside prison walls—activities that endanger correctional staff, other inmates, and the public.
The letter contends that current FCC rules interpret federal law as prohibiting the use of jamming equipment, even in highly controlled environments like correctional institutions. The coalition expresses support for a rulemaking effort titled Promoting Technological Solutions to Combat Contraband Wireless Device Use in Correctional Facilities, published on September 9, 2025.
The FCC is scheduled to vote on the Third Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) at its Open Meeting on September 30, 2025, in Washington, D.C., where commissioners will decide whether to formally adopt or refine the jamming authorization.
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