Chris Mills Rodrigo

Federal Communications Commissioner Michael O'Rielly and Rep. Suzan DelBenne (D-WA) agreed that the US government needs to help expand internet access to more households as the coronavirus pandemic exposes significant gaps in coverage. Commissioner O'Rielly said that while many classrooms, doctor’s offices and workplaces have moved online, about 20 million Americans don’t have broadband. “COVID-19 didn't bring this issue upon us, but it's made it more prominent.” He said that lack of equipment and affordability are the main obstacles for households who aren't able to log on.

Amid the mad dash to develop fifth-generation (5G) wireless technologies, Shirley Bloomfield likes to remind people that vast swaths of America have other hurdles to clear first. “As everybody gets super excited about 5G ... we just tell them in rural America we’re still waiting for 1G in some areas,” said the CEO of NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association.

A bipartisan group of senators introduced the Filter Bubble Transparency Act that would force large online platforms to be more transparent about how their algorithms find content to share. The bill would require companies that collect data from more than 1 million users and make more than $50 million per year to notify users that their platforms use algorithms to determine what information is shown and offer users the opportunity to opt-out of curated content.