March 2022

Apple Investors Defy Company and Vote for Civil-Rights Audits

Apple shareholders approved outside proposals recommending audits of the company’s civil-rights impact and a public report on its use of concealment clauses in employment agreements, marking a rare instance of investors defying the tech giant. The votes were part of Apple’s annual shareholder meeting, held virtually on March 4 for the second year in a row. Investors also reelected the company’s board and approved its executive compensation plan.

How's Putin's truth lockdown challenges the promise of an open internet

The internet promised a world in which no government could fully hide the truth from its people. Russia's free-speech crackdown following its invasion of Ukraine is testing that premise as never before. How everyday Russians view the conflict is likely to determine their willingness to support Vladimir Putin and his war. Russia has succeeded in driving out or shutting down some of the most popular internet services while also squelching the remnants of Russia's own independent news operations.

The Digital Equity Leadership Lab: A Case Study of Community Leadership Development to Promote Digital Equity and Justice

In 2021, twenty-five community leaders from across Baltimore came together with national experts in areas related to network engineering, federal policymaking, community broadband networking, and grassroots organizing for a five-week online program, called “The Digital Equity Leadership Lab (DELL).” DELL was created by Rober

About 2,950,000 Added Broadband From Top Providers in 2021

The largest cable and wireline phone providers in the US–representing about 96% of the market–acquired about 2,950,000 net additional broadband Internet subscribers in 2021, compared to gains of about 4,860,000 subscribers in 2020, and about 2,550,000 in 2019. These top broadband providers now account for about 108.4 million subscribers, with top cable companies having about 75.7 million broadband subscribers, and top wireline phone companies having about 32.7 million subscribers. Additional findings:

As telephone companies tout the switch to 5G, these San Diego residents still lack reliable cell service

San Ysidro is a neighborhood in San Diego that is adjacent to one of the world’s busiest border crossings and nestled within one of North America’s largest metropolitan regions. And yet, wireless networks, which are responsible for cellular signals and data, are spotty here.