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The Federal Communications Commission this week advanced a proposal for censorship that received far less attention than chair Brendan Carr’s “mafioso” approach to the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel. But it will likely result in a communication crackdown that does more harm to a far more vulnerable population — denying incarcerated people one of the few tools available to expose abuse in America’s most secretive institutions.

At a meeting on Tuesday, the FCC agreed to move forward with a proposal to allow prisons to jam contraband cellphones. Cellphone jammers are otherwise illegal devices that disrupt cellphone signals and effectively disable phones within range of the jammer.

The commission was answering the call from Arkansas officials, who invited Carr to tour a state prison where officials claimed incarcerated individuals used contraband cellphones to coordinate violent criminal activities. After the September 5 tour with the state’s Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Sen. Tom Cotton, Carr announced his plans for a crackdown, claiming, without data, that “the worst possible offenders” use contraband cellphones to coordinate violence outside prison walls.

As a person who has been incarcerated for over 25 years, and has had extensive exposure to contraband cellphones — including using them to expose horrific conditions and force reform — I can attest that these accusations were exaggerated and preposterous.

While there may be isolated incidents where incarcerated individuals have used contraband cellphones to commit crimes, my experience tells me they’re........

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