The Chicago Public Library Foundation released its 2024 Impact Report. The report highlights the library system's work, including efforts to bridge the digital divide. Highlights include:

• CyberNavigators: Through one-on-one coaching and assistance, CyberNavigators helped nearly 27,000 Chicagoans build their confidence around topics such as using a web browser, finding health information on the internet, and applying for jobs online.
• Chicago DigitalLearn: Customized for Chicagoans, the DigitalLearn platform offers nearly 40 beginner-friendly and bilingual video modules that guide individuals through topics ranging from identifying online scams to applying for jobs online to using an iPhone. in 2024, 5,200 lessons were completed on the platform.
• Cell-Ed: Available 24/7 via smartphone app or text messaging, Cell-Ed is a new low-barrier adult continued learning resource. The platform supports adult users, particularly those with lower levels of formal education, in literacy, numeracy, and other essential skills. Cell-Ed is especially popular among those learning English as another language, with lessons focused on using English in common scenarios like the workplace or the doctor’s office.

Arizona and Indiana have provided updates on their Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Programs:

• Arizona ($993 million in BEAD funding): The Round 1 Application Subgrantee Application process ran from January 6 to March 7. In all, there were 147 applications submitted by 21 broadband service providers (BSPs). They promised to bring service to 162,566 unserved and underserved locations and 7,713 Community Anchor Institutions. Round 2 applications will run from June 3 to July 3.
• Indiana ($868 million in BEAD funding): The Indiana Broadband Office (IBO) has made preliminary awards in Round 1 of the BEAD Program. The awards will provide access to more than 90,000 locations, which the office says about 70% of the eligible locations.

North Carolina Governor Josh Stein (D-NC) announced more than $63 million in Completing Access to Broadband (CAB) program projects to connect 18,889 households and businesses in 30 counties to high-speed internet.  These projects will be awarded by the North Carolina Department of Information Technology (NCDIT) and are funded by more than $44 million from the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and nearly $19 million from selected broadband providers. The CAB program’s procurement process creates a partnership between counties and NCDIT to identify areas that need access, solicit proposals from prequalified internet service providers, and quickly make awards. Awardees must agree to provide high-speed service that reliably meets or exceeds speeds of 100 Mbps download and 100 Mbps upload. These awards add to the $533 million in Growing Rural Economies with Access to Technology grants and previous CAB projects that will connect more than 211,000 North Carolina households and businesses to high-speed internet.

Content moderators who comb through harmful material uploaded to online platforms have formed a global trade union alliance in a bid to improve working conditions. The Global Trade Union Alliance of Content Moderators (GTUACM) says it aims to “hold Big Tech responsible” for failing to address workers’ issues like low wages, trauma, and lack of union representation across the industry. Companies like Meta, Bytedance, and Alphabet often outsource content moderation on their platforms to contract workers. The job requires these workers to analyze and flag violent videos, hate speech, child-abuse imagery, and other harmful content. GTUACM says that many moderators in the industry experience “severe mental health consequences” due to being exposed to such content without adequate support. Workers are also often faced with unrealistic performance targets, employment uncertainties, and fear of being punished for speaking out about the issues. GTUACM says it aims to provide a global platform to bargain with tech companies, alongside coordinating collective campaigns and researching occupational health.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr announced the appointment of Joseph Calascione as Chief of the Wireline Bureau. Joseph rejoins the Commission following several years of practicing communications law at a Washington (DC) law firm. He previously held several roles at the agency, including as Legal Advisor to the Chief of the Wireline Bureau, and Legal Advisor to then-Commissioner Carr on various aspects of universal service, mapping, 5G, and broadband infrastructure, before a detail to the Senate Commerce Committee. He is a graduate of the George Mason University School of Law and the University of Virginia, where he studied Chinese politics.

Iridium, Verizon, and Comcast are among those telecommunications companies that are warning of reduced sales to government customers due to cuts by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). It's likely that DOGE's impact on the telecommunications industry will grow as time goes on. Iridium CEO Matt Desch said USAID had been using the company's satellite services—and now that business is gone following DOGE's cuts to the organization. DOGE is an idea spearheaded by Elon Musk, the world's richest person and the chief executive of companies including SpaceX, Tesla, and xAI. It is intended to trim excess expenses in US government organizations. One of its first moves was to shut down USAID. In recent weeks, DOGE has taken aim at a variety of other programs and government agencies, though it's difficult to ascertain the scope of DOGE's effects due to a range of legal challenges to many of DOGE's cuts. One recent analysis suggests DOGE has cost taxpayers nearly as much as it claims to have saved.