Digital Literacy

The Blueprint for Equitable Digital Participation was designed to center the lived experiences of those directly impacted by digital inequities. Participants provided recommendations that ultimately pass the ‘kitchen table’ test—policies needed to help people live with dignity, opportunity, and the ability to thrive—for how to solve the digital divide in low-to-moderate-income households across America. Key takeaways include: 

Fifty billion dollars is now flowing to states to transform rural healthcare. For communities that have endured decades of hospital closures, provider shortages, and dwindling options, that money is welcome and long overdue. But every dollar of it is assuming patients and their caregivers can navigate digital systems—and a lot of them can’t. The Rural Health Transformation Program, authorized under P.L. 119-21, is designed to modernize care delivery through telehealth expansion, remote monitoring, digital patient portals, and data-sharing infrastructure. These are good investments.

The Fiber Broadband Association announced a strategic initiative with Older Adults Technology Services from AARP, which powers their flagship Senior Planet program, to expand high-speed fiber connectivity and digital skills training to older Americans across the country. By combining infrastructure investment with education and engagement, the initiative helps address both access and adoption, two critical components of digital equity. The collaboration brings together FBA’s nationwide network of fiber providers and OATS’ proven Senior Planet pr

The enduring challenge of sustainability is now more crucial than ever for digital inclusion programs. A new series of three briefs from the National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA) highlights best practices in the foundations of sustainable programs: intentional community impact, diligent data collection and analysis, and mission-aligned storytelling.

If artificial intelligence (AI) were a candidate for political office, it would be losing in a landslide. The AI hype cycle would have you believe the technology is inevitable. But AI backlash is growing, as people worry it will steal their jobs, jack up electricity rates, and further enrich the wealthy, all while hurting the environment. AI executives aren't doing much to quell the backlash, which is already showing signs of slowing the industry.

May 8, 2026, marked one year since President Donald Trump terminated the grants made under the Digital Equity Act. The Digital Equity Act, part of the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 (IIJA), is a landmark piece of legislation that primed all 50 states and U.S. territories to implement programs to improve digital literacy, improve access to affordable internet-connected devices, provide technical support, and increase awareness of privacy and cybersecurity.

The STEM Alliance, as the Lead Partner in Connect Westchester, retained Camoin Associates to measure the Benefit-to-Cost Ratio and return on investment Westchester County’s (NY) Connect Westchester initiative. Connect Westchester is a digital navigator program that provides high-need residents with digital skills training, computing devices to own, and assistance enrolling in free/affordable internet.

The 2027 Budget builds on the President’s vision by continuing to constrain non-defense spending and reform the Federal Government.  The Budget proposes a 10-percent cut compared to 2026 non-defense levels.

Meta's court losses are adding urgency to lawmakers' push to pass legislation that could reshape how social media platforms are designed. Plaintiffs in New Mexico and Los Angeles successfully tested a new legal theory that treats social media more like products that can cause harm—rather than protected speech—and chips away at tech's long-standing liability shield. A jury in New Mexico ordered Meta to pay $375 million after finding that the company violated state law by misleading users on safety and failing to protect children. The trial

On National AI Literacy Day, and as the broadband and digital equity community strives toward universal broadband access, we are also addressing the rapidly developing technologies enabled by connectivity. We are approaching the one-year anniversary of President Donald Trump signing an Executive Order that cemented his Administration’s priorities for the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in education and the workforc