Late yesterday, the Knight First Amendment Institute, the Social Justice Legal Foundation, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California sent a letter to the Los Angeles County Sheriff Civilian Oversight Commission urging the county to reject a proposal to digitize mail in its jails. The organizations argue that banning physical mail would undermine free speech and privacy rights while severing a vital line of communication between people who are incarcerated and their loved ones.

The organizations also raise serious concerns about the sweeping nature of this surveillance. Mail digitization allows correctional authorities and third-party vendors to store, search, and analyze personal correspondence for extended periods, often without clear limits or safeguards. It extends monitoring beyond jail walls and deters communication. The letter also notes that there is little evidence that such policies reduce drug use in correctional facilities. 

In 2023, the Knight Institute, the Social Justice Legal Foundation, and the Electronic Frontier Foundation filed a lawsuit challenging a similar mail digitization policy in San Mateo County, arguing that it violates the constitutional rights of people who are incarcerated and those who correspond with them. The case is ongoing.

Read the full letter here.