Center for American Progress

High-speed internet is a necessity, but rural Americans, particularly poor people and people of color, often lack access to this important utility. This challenge requires investment on a historic scale as well as public understanding of the disparities between rural and urban areas during the pandemic, what they mean for rural Americans’ access to services that meet their basic needs, and why broadband is a part of the country’s essential infrastructure. Using data from the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking, the column finds:

Rural communities face many challenges, and climate change is only making matters worse. If done right, taking climate action will be a win-win for rural communities, counteracting the shifts to their way of life. Nearly one-quarter of rural Americans do not have access to broadband internet, which has major financial implications for farmers. According to the USDA, universal deployment of broadband-enabled precision technology could reduce water use by 30 percent, cut herbicide reliance significantly, reduce fuel use by 10 percent, and increase yi

Internet companies should adopt and implement corporate policies to reduce hateful activities. A full explanation of internet companies’ policies on hateful activities should be easily accessible to users in a language that the users can understand and should especially be available to users in any language with which they use an internet company’s services. Similarly, the policies should be easily accessible to any person with a disability who uses a service, consistent with how they use the service.

Internet tools have empowered those driven by or capitalizing on hate. Following the violence in Charlottesville, the Center for American Progress joined with the Southern Poverty Law Center and Free Press to convene experts from civil, human, and media rights groups, as well as open internet organizations, to better understand how hate organizes online and to determine what could be done about it. We sought out and listened to experts on terrorism, human rights, media manipulation, technology, and law.