Tech Policy Press

It’s an interesting time to be an organization that conducts media bias research in the United States. Depending on the results of your research, you may find the Federal Trade Commission using it to justify an inquiry directed at another company; or you may find yourself the target of an FTC investigation. The first scenario was reflected in FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson's recent letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook.

In early May, following months of silence and confusion, the Trump administration abruptly cancelled Digital Equity Act programs—the US’s biggest investment in providing Americans with the tools and skills they need to reap the benefits of accessing the internet.

Elon Musk’s satellite broadband company – Starlink – is poised to receive billions of dollars in federal subsidies should the recently announced changes to the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program be approved by Congress.

In 2021, New York passed the Affordable Broadband Act (ABA), requiring internet providers to offer high-speed broadband to lower-income households for as little as $15 per month.

In the wake of the Biden Administration’s request for a $6 billion extension of the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), some in Congress question the program’s true impact on bringing broadband access to new users.

As a government shutdown looms over the nation, millions of Americans risk losing internet access. Americans have come to rely on the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) for a $30/month broadband subsidy to stay connected to their communities. Many will be forced to go without, from families who receive Medicaid and SNAP benefits to veterans and Pell Grant recipients. As costs for everything from housing to healthcare continue skyrocketing, families who struggle to make ends meet will have to choose between putting food on the table and having essential broadband access.

The internet is facing multiple crises. From algorithmically fueled misinformation on Facebook to communities abandoned by large internet service providers, the tension between digital monopolies’ profit interests and the public interest is glaringly evident. Consensus is growing that the internet we have is not the internet that we want or need. In recent years, a diverse array of thinkers has begun to coalesce around bold ideas for radically democratizing the internet—from the pipes that connect us to the internet to the platforms that distribute news and information.

If you’re a person living in the United States without quality broadband, you should be very disappointed in the way your elected officials have failed to meet the following challenge of closing the digital divide recently: