Trump’s action will hurt many Americans who live in underserved urban, rural or tribal communities and continue to face disadvantages because of the digital divide. It is time that public officials at every level of government put up a bigger fight on behalf of constituents who are trapped on the wrong side of that divide.
Of course, digital inclusion starts with access. The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights estimates that more than 24 million Americans “lack access to quality broadband.” “Quality” is the keyword here: BroadbandNow, a research organization that tracks high-speed Internet service in the U.S., estimates that 22 million lack it under the current Federal Communications Commission standards for broadband speed. And many experts argue that those standards are too low to accommodate the purposes for which Americans need and use the Internet today. (I’ve previously written about this problem here.)
It’s clear from the way Trump described the Digital Equity Act that he sees wrecking it as just another volley in his obsession with ending all things DEI — after all, the very title of the law contains the word “equity.” He and his MAGA allies probably never stopped to consider the broader purposes that Congress intended: to create “the condition in which individuals and communities have the information technology capacity that is needed for full participation in the society and economy of the United States.”
The need for this law was made ever more clear during the COVID-19 pandemic, when broadband and Internet access became lifelines for millions of Americans. With offices closed, employees whose jobs did not require them to be physically present worked remotely; students attended school from home; and senior citizens and others with health risks received telemedicine care without leaving their living rooms. But those critical services were only available to those with a reliable Internet connection and the ability to take advantage of it.
Beyond access, there was and remains a stubborn and troublesome problem with digital literacy. Several years ago, when my mother was still living, I purchased a computer and an Internet connection for her that sat idle for months. She lacked both the confidence and the knowledge to use either. If digital equity funding had been available during those times, perhaps she might have benefitted from a tutor who could have provided the hands-on support that she and others like her needed to overcome their anxieties.
Digital literacy is by no means just a problem for the elderly. Many young people, despite their constant use of social media, encounter problems performing common functions like uploading and retrieving documents from the Internet or attaching a file to an email. And since artificial intelligence has become so heavily used, some students have trouble discerning actual from fabricated reality. All of these examples suggest that society needs more digital literacy.
I know that state and local government officials have competing priorities — balancing budgets, addressing public safety issues and working to narrow the learning gaps that broadened so acutely during COVID-19. But were we to face another pandemic — one that required that we shut society down again — would we be prepared? Would we have the broadband infrastructure in place that would guarantee that all could live, work, learn, worship and receive health care from their homes?
The need for action is clear: The public and private sectors must work closer together to ensure that we have a robust infrastructure that connects all Americans to the Internet at the highest speeds possible regardless of income. Then we must set aside funding for digital literacy training. This could be a promising intergenerational initiative, where, for example, students use paid stipends to offset the cost of their education in exchange for coaching elderly residents in computer and Internet use. Finally, we must make it crystal clear that the Internet, particularly during national emergencies like COVID-19, should be considered a critical public utility.
Many of us have advocated for decades that government embrace this expansive definition of broadband and digital readiness. It’s encouraging that members of Congress finally caught on and passed the Digital Equity Act. Sadly, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s webpage that used to describe the program no longer exists. If you follow the link where it once resided, you will be greeted by this message: “Access denied. You are not authorized to access this page.”
The Digital Equity Act provided services that would have benefited all citizens regardless of age, class or race. Regrettably, the recent actions taken by the president, along with the relative silence of public officials at all levels of government, will assure that millions of Americans will be excluded from full participation in our society and economy should another pandemic or other national disaster occur.
Governing’s opinion columns reflect the views of their authors and not necessarily those of Governing’s editors or management.
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