Rural Communities Lose Out With Shelving of Digital Equity Act
Continuing his crusade against diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, President Donald Trump announced he was shutting down the Digital Equity Act in May 2025.
June 2025
Daily Digest 6/30/2025
Submitted by zwalker@benton.org on Mon, 06/30/2025 - 08:55Daily Digest 6/30/2025 (Universal Service Fund)
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Mon, 06/30/2025
Broadband news digest for June 30, 2025
GOP governors urge Sen Thune to nix AI moratorium
A group of 17 Republican governors asked Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) and Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) to remove a 10-year moratorium on enforcing state and local artificial intelligence laws from the GOP’s megabill. In the biggest show of Republican resistance to the provision so far, the governors warned the language would undo existing state efforts to protect their citizens from the harm the technology could cause, and criticized the lack of “thoughtful” publi
Safeguarding State Broadband Goals After the BEAD Restructuring Policy Notice
The Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Restructuring Policy Notice of June 6, 2025, greatly narrows the vision embedded in the original BEAD program. The previous approach recognized that digital equity and complementary policy measures, such as workforce development programs, boost the social and economic benefits of high-speed Internet access. In contrast, the revised PN aims at minimizing BEAD program outlays for broadband access. Although efficiency and expediency are desirable, the new approach risks jeopardizing even the more modest remaining goals of BEAD.