Prison Company Patents VR to Give Inmates Brief Taste of Freedom

Prison contracting giant Global Tel Link Corporation (GTL), which handles a huge chunk of the prison communications industry, has obtained a patent for a system that essentially gives incarcerated people a taste of freedom through virtual reality. The patent itself reads that the system would allow an inmate to "for a brief time, imagine himself outside or away from the controlled environment."

The news signals the continued ways that contractors such as GTL try to monetize their literally captive audience of inmates as well their relatives or friends, be that through charging exorbitant fees for phone calls or by selling inmates access to entertainment via tablets.

"System and method for personalized virtual reality experience in a controlled environment," the patent starts. "A system and method for initiating a personalized virtual reality session via a virtual reality communication system in a controlled environment is disclosed," the abstract adds. Specifically, the system could be used to interact with a second virtual reality user outside the prison, the patent says, presumably as part of a virtual visitation.

Do you have any more information on prison surveillance or monetization technology? We'd love to hear from you. Using a non-work phone or computer, you can contact Joseph Cox securely on Signal on +44 20 8133 5190, Wickr on josephcox, or email joseph.cox@vice.com.

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