Research

This year, Congress passed a law forcing ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, to sell the app within a year or face a potential shutdown. However, there is speculation that the incoming Trump administration could reverse the ban, even though the first Trump administration originally raised the idea of a ban, and his potential cabinet picks remain 

More than 80% of Canadians have access to fixed broadband networks, but for rural Canadians that figure drops to just 60%. Yet, this gap between who has broadband access and who doesn't is closing in rural areas at a rate nearly three times faster than in urban areas.

Federal agencies have already begun leveraging AI to empower existing agency missions and streamline programs. While use cases vary in application and maturity, the benefits of responsible government use of AI are potentially transformative. However, irresponsible or improper use fosters risks to individual privacy, security, and the fair and equal treatment of all citizens by their government. Key findings include:

Middleware, third-party software intermediaries between users and platforms, offers a promising solution to counter the concentrated power of social media platforms. The term has referred to a variety of technologies and systems over the years, including third-party provider tools that platforms themselves use internally.

The fifth installment of USTelecom’s Broadband Pricing Index (BPI) shows that prices for high-speed broadband internet services continue to decline—even as upload and download speeds rapidly advance. Key findings include:

• 55% of broadband customers choose 100-940 Mbps service ("BPI-Speed")
• BPI-Speed prices dropped 9.4% in the last year and 60% since 2015

One in four Americans list “saving money” as a top 2025 New Year’s resolution, and nearly a quarter of a million people ask Google about internet costs every month. Auditing your internet bill is a simple way to start. HighSpeedInternet.com’s latest report reveals average internet costs by state and provides tools you can use to compare providers and save money.

A growing body of work has identified a digital language divide: the disparity between languages in terms of digital content availability, accessibility, and technological support.

Rural Americans encounter substantial healthcare disparities when compared to urban counterparts, including provider shortages, less access to specialists, and higher mortality risks from various chronic and acute conditions. While 13.8% of the U.S. population lives in rural areas, rural regions comprise two-thirds of healthcare provider shortage areas. Accordingly, broadband-enabled telehealth that mitigates barriers to healthcare access can be a transformative solution for patients and physicians in rural areas.

Journalism is facing a trust crisis. Audiences are increasingly skeptical that mainstream media serves their interests and are turning their attention away from traditional news outlets. Meanwhile, online content creators who engage in journalist-style work are building huge, loyal audiences that eclipse those of traditional media. This shift in attention can be attributed, in part, to the different types of relationships that journalists and creators have with their audiences. This paper examines these relationships through the lens of trustworthiness.

Amid national concerns about technology’s impact on youth, many teens are as digitally connected as ever. Most teens use social media and have a smartphone, and nearly half say they’re online almost constantly, according to a new Pew Research Center survey of U.S. teens ages 13 to 17 conducted Sept. 18-Oct. 10, 2024. Some key takeaways: