1. Monthly archive
  2. March 2019

March 2019

The Pathway Forward for Mapping Broadband Speeds in America

We’ve built something that can provide your community with more accurate broadband data. Working with our civic tech and startup communities, Louisville Metro created an open-source solution called SpeedUp for you to see the actual speeds that residents are receiving at a census tract level. And, Tech Oregon is about to take on the task of building it for the whole country! We are excited to share that the next step of development will kick off in April at Hack for a Cause in Eugene (OR).

A Watchful Eye on Facebook’s Advertising Practices

Before the Department of Housing and Urban Development on March 28 announced that it has charged Facebook with violating the Fair Housing Act by enabling advertisers to engage in housing discrimination, Facebook said that it would change its ad-targeting methods to forbid discriminatory advertisements about housing, employment and credit opportunities. This plan, announced the week of March 18, is part of its settlement agreement with the civil rights groups that filed suits against the company over the past few years. The substantive terms are not radical.

March 25-29, 2019
Weekly Digest

Federal Broadband Policy Update

Benton Foundation

Friday, March 29, 2019

The anti-competitive forces that foil speedy, affordable broadband

From Chattanooga, Tennessee, to Santa Monica, California, hundreds of communities in the U.S. have been able to provide consumers and businesses with affordable broadband over locally owned and controlled fiber and coaxial networks. But San Francisco, the epicenter of the digital revolution, can’t match the success of these smaller municipalities, many with far fewer resources and civic wealth. San Francisco is not alone.

Facebook tightens up rules for political advertisers

Advertisers will be required to provide verifiable public contact details before they can run political campaigns on Facebook, in the latest attempt by the social network to increase accountability for so-called dark adverts. The move is part of a raft of changes in the buildup to the European elections in May, when citizens from across the European Union will vote in new Members of the European Parliament. Facebook’s political advertising restrictions will launch in the EU27 on March 29, following partial rollouts in six countries including the UK, US and India.

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