FCC Looks to Help Domestic Violence Survivors Access Connectivity

The Federal Communication Commission proposed rules to implement key provisions in the Safe Connections Act to support survivors of domestic abuse and other related crimes seeking to maintain critical connections with friends, family, and support networks. These proposed rules would help survivors obtain separate service lines from shared accounts that include their abusers, protect the privacy of calls made by survivors to domestic abuse hotlines, and provide support for survivors who suffer from financial hardship through our affordability programs. The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking builds on the work the Commission initiated in July 2022 to support the connectivity needs of survivors. Reliable, safe, and affordable connectivity is critical to survivors in or leaving a relationship involving domestic violence, human trafficking, and other related crimes or abuse. This connectivity can assist survivors in leaving their abusers and finding and maintaining contact with family, social safety networks, employers, and support services. As survivors navigate difficult circumstances, access to communications services is critically important, especially since many survivors may not have direct control over their mobile phone or broadband plans, which may still be managed by their abusers. Having access to an independent phone or broadband connection is important for survivors to be able to communicate and access other available services without fear of their communications, location, or other private information being revealed to their abusers.