Governance in California boggles the mind. Christopher Rufo has a report in City Journal on Wednesday, claiming that California spent nearly $189 million to give every prisoner, including death row inmates, a free iPad. Rufo notes that prisoners can use the iPads to watch porn and groom minors. First, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass wants to give homeless meth addicts free teeth, and now Gov. Gavin Newsom is having the taxpayers buy iPads for convicted inmates.
EXCLUSIVE: California spent nearly $189 million to give every state prisoner a free iPad. We interviewed a dozen death row inmates, who told us that prisoners are using the tablets to watch porn, engage in x-rated chats, and groom minors on the outside.https://t.co/bpmvDB6vPm
— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@christopherrufo) May 13, 2026
What the fuck
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) May 13, 2026
It's all part of Gavin Newsom's "digital equity" initiative
— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@christopherrufo) May 13, 2026
Rufo writes:
As part of this transformation, the Newsom administration approved a $189 million contract to provide new digital tablets—generic, flat-screen devices in a plastic shell—to every inmate in the state prison system, at “no cost” to offenders. The administration heralded the effort to replace inmates’ old tablets—which were piloted in 2018 and given to nearly all prisoners by 2023—as a step toward “digital equity” for “justice-impacted” individuals, who could, in theory, use the devices to contact their families, consume “educational” content, and “learn new technology.”
…
The potential for abuse is obvious. The Newsom administration has made the tablet program universal, with no access-restrictions based on offense. And inmates, including child predators, can communicate with members of the public through their tablets, apparently with no age restrictions, at a cost of five cents per text message or 16 cents per minute of video.
In a recent case, Nathaniel Ray Diaz, who was convicted of committing sex crimes against a 12-year-old girl, allegedly used a prison-issued tablet to contact and exploit her from inside Avenal State Prison. Diaz allegedly told the girl to send him sexually explicit images, which he received through a co-conspirator. The girl reportedly told investigators that Diaz forced her to speak with him through the tablet “for hours, every day,” from the time she came home from school until the prison phones turned off at midnight.
Prosecutors alleged that, in total, Diaz made “thousands of calls” to the girl, violating a no-contact order and—by soliciting explicit photographs and exploiting a minor—committing additional child sex crimes. The Eastern District of California Attorney’s Office told us that Diaz is in custody awaiting trial.
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There are definitely people in California that are paying taxes but can’t afford iPads.
— MAZE (@mazemoore) May 13, 2026
Apparently, Rufo's post is misleading. They're not Apple iPads, but "generic tablets" that function as iPads. How are prisoners even being given internet access?
So are the corrections officers who are supposed to be screening this bribed by the prisoners? As a victim's advocate, all messages from me and to me by prisoners have been screened first by prison administration.
— Beautyinnis 🇺🇸 (@beautyinnis) May 13, 2026
A former high-ranking prison official told us there is no way for authorities to monitor 90,000 prison iPads at the same time
— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@christopherrufo) May 13, 2026
Almost unbelievable that anyone could this stupid. They are convicted criminals; prison is supposed to be about punishment not some kind of adult daycare facility. Newsom and the Left really don't believe these criminals deserve to be in prison and would like to release them.
— Needle (@Ltrs_Frm_Across) May 13, 2026
It's "digital equity."
And your telling me this is not meant to hurt the law abiding citizens who foot the bill for this. This is truly insane and anyone who is not whistleblowing on this is part of the problem.
— adriana (@adriana16362329) May 13, 2026
Unbelievable that this is happening. So much for protecting citizens and especially children.
— PDX_Info (@momma_pdx) May 13, 2026
Oh. So not for personal enrichment or online college courses?
— Two-Pump Chump! (@two_chump) May 13, 2026
And Bible study.
They're not learning to code
— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@christopherrufo) May 13, 2026
In other words, the most predictable outcomes happened.
— Janet (@JanetJa55586250) May 13, 2026
You get more benefits if you are a homeless drug addict, illegal alien, or a criminal in California than if you are a law-abiding taxpayer.
— Heartland Impact (@HL_Impact) May 13, 2026
Infinite compassion for criminals, infinite contempt for law abiding taxpayers. That is the Democrat party
— Midwest State of Mind (@mwstateofmind) May 13, 2026
The Democrats running California are out of their minds! Every week there's new insanity, blowing millions on nonsense.
— Frankly Powder (@FPower1) May 13, 2026
It's a step toward “digital equity” for “justice-impacted” individuals.
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