A recent survey revealed that 81 percent of households with schoolchildren receiving a monthly broadband subsidy are worried about the prospect of losing this assistance and its potential effects on their children's education, according to the Universal Service Administrative Company. These metrics “demonstrate with incredible clarity just how important it is to stay connected in modern life and how dangerous it is to threaten disconnection,” said Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. She also reported that 75 percent of households receiving broadband internet subsidies use their broadband connection for telemedicine purposes. 

In early 2023, Brookings Metro and other experts were warning that, without action, the United States was likely take the biggest step any country has ever taken to widen rather than close its digital divide. The reason? The Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), which provides a $30 per month subsidy for broadband to about 23 million homes, would run out of funds sometime in late April or May 2024. Now, we’ve arrived at that precipice. Extending the ACP is still a challenge, due to two obstacles. The first is that the ACP, like all programs, is not perfect. Some legislators will not vote for an extension unless the program is changed to limit eligibility and costs. It is late in the day to be negotiating such adjustments, but if such changes would result in ACP continuing to assist the lion’s share of recipients, it may simply be the inevitable consequence of Beltway sausage-making. But there is a second, bigger problem. Even though enough House Democrats and Republicans together favor an ACP extension, the current Republican House leadership is following the “Hastert Rule,” by which the Republican Speaker will not allow legislation to be voted on unless a majority of Republicans will vote for it. That is not the case today. But if members and their constituents understand how ending the program will likely raise the cost of government, increase illiteracy and crime, and decrease economic growth, that calculus could change. The country can’t afford to step backward. Congress should extend the ACP to make sure there is not a massive disruption in the lives of those currently enrolled, and in doing so, ensure the program’s economic and political benefits flow long into the future.

It is downright shocking that millions of low-income older adults, members of our one of our most vulnerable communities, will lose their broadband connection due to the uncertainty of funding for the Affordable Connectivity Program. For older adults in financial need, the extension of funding for the ACP is critical. While the number of those over the age of 65 with broadband in the home has grown, it is still one of the biggest gaps of the digital divide. At the start of the ACP, only 64% of those 65 and older had a broadband connection in the home Pew Research. The ACP has demonstrated that it is starting to close some of this divide. According to the most recent data released, almost 20% of the ACP recipients are 65 and older and nearly half of those enrolled are over 50 years old. Continuation of the ACP is essential for all older low-income consumers. The ACP needs to continue to carry out the critical role it has played in helping to close the digital divide among our older adult community.

[Debra Berlyn is the Executive Director of the Project to Get Older Adults onLine. She is also president of Consumer Policy Solutions, is on the board of the National Consumers League, and is a board member and senior fellow with the Future of Privacy Forum.]

As government officials increasingly scrutinize how digital platforms may harm kids, a growing number of states are proposing sweeping restrictions to limit their access to social media. But a top federal enforcer active on kids’ safety issues said that he opposes such limits, arguing they are unlikely to work and may run afoul of the Constitution. “Meet a teenager, they will find a way to get around that,” said Federal Trade Commissioner Alvaro Bedoya. He has called children’s online safety a top priority since joining the FTC in 2022 and has played a key role in the federal government’s response to the issue. Since he joined the agency, the FTC has struck landmark settlements with video game developer Epic Games over allegations the company deployed deceptive designs to trick consumers. In addition, the agency has proposed a sweeping plan to bar tech giant Meta from monetizing children’s data. Commissioner Bedoya said he supports legislation banning targeted ads to kids, something lawmakers on Capitol Hill have proposed.