The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) has proposed new sweeping censorship rules for information going into and out of California prisons

Public comment  remains open, years after the call. Use this tool to send a note with your objection to the vague and over-reaching regulations, which characterize all political materials as “oppositional to society and authority”.

More from CURB (Californians United For A Responsible Budget) on the new regulations below: Visit the site for more extensive fact sheets and links to the exact text of the proposed regulations.

Media Alliance’s letter of protest is attached.

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Under the guise of “obscenity” regulations, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) has proposed sweeping new political censorship rules for mail going both into and out of the prisons. If these changes are approved, CDCR will permanently ban any documents it defines as “contraband,” including political publications and correspondence that should be protected by First Amendment constitutional rights.

CDCR states that the purpose of these censorship rules are to forbid “publications that indicate an association with groups that are oppositional to authority and society.” This ominous language reveals the political underpinnings of the proposed changes. They are attempting to increase the political, mental and emotional isolation of people in solitary confinement struggling to resist an already crushing physical isolation.

The proposed regulations are designed with two main purposes: to censor writings that educate the public about what is actually occurring inside the prisons, and to stifle the intellectual and political education and organizing of prisoners themselves.