LITTLE ROCK — The Federal Communications Commission will vote Nov. 19 on rules that would allow state and local prisons and jails to jam contraband cellphones, according to an announcement from Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin’s office.
Griffin joined U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., and FCC Chairman Brendan Carr for the announcement and a roundtable discussion with law enforcement officials.
The proposed rules would allow correctional facilities to use cellphone jamming technology but would not require them to do so. The vote is scheduled for the FCC’s November open meeting.
Officials said inmates have used contraband phones to coordinate violent attacks, direct gang activity, exploit children and manage criminal enterprises from behind bars.
“Contraband cellphones allow dangerous prisoners to continue their criminal activities from behind bars, putting correctional officers and the public at risk,” Griffin said. “These devices have been used to coordinate violent attacks, manage criminal enterprises, and exploit children. We must give correctional facilities the tools they need to stop this activity.”
Carr said the FCC has authorized other approaches to addressing contraband phones but has stopped short of allowing jamming.
“No correctional institution will be required to use jamming, and this will not be the right solution for every facility,” Carr said. “But the FCC will vote next month to allow state and local prisons and jails to use this technology in appropriate cases.”
Cotton also called on Congress to pass his Cellphone Jamming Reform Act to put the effort into federal law.
“Contraband cellphones threaten everyone from law-abiding Arkansans to law enforcement officers,” Cotton said. “I commend Chairman Carr for taking an important step to jam these dangerous devices, and I urge Congress to pass my Cellphone Jamming Reform Act to codify this effort.”
In September 2025, Griffin joined Cotton, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Carr to announce the FCC’s plan to allow prisons to combat contraband cellphones. Later that month, Griffin led a 23-state coalition in a letter urging the commission to allow jamming in correctional facilities, according to his office.
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