The pandemic might be the bridge to close the generational tech divide as older adults flocked to adopt technology in 2020. Usage increased across the technological spectrum, according to AARP’s annual technology survey. Older adults are streaming movies and TV shows, video-chatting with loved ones and colleagues, and buying new smart devices, such as TVs, phones, watches, tablets, home assistants, and home security. With social distancing restricting social interaction, adults 50 and older not only snatched up new devices, but also were more likely to use them daily. They purchased more smart TVs, smartphones, tablets, and wearables, and audio devices such as earbuds and headsets. Barriers weren’t completely eliminated, however. Older adults cited cost, knowledge gaps, and privacy concerns as top reasons they may be hesitant to adopt technology. More than half (54%) admitted they want a better grasp of the devices they’ve acquired, while more than one in three (37%) said they lacked confidence when using the technology that has otherwise become so much more prevalent in their lives.

During an April 20 hearing, multiple members of the House Agriculture Committee said they want to push their colleagues to move the Agriculture Department’s two-year-old ReConnect program, aimed at helping deliver broadband to rural lands, past its pilot stage. Committee Chairman David Scott (D-GA) said he wants his panel to be at “the vanguard” of tackling the digital divide. He said he hopes to put together legislation addressing broadband issues by the end of the year.  Lawmakers widely acknowledge tensions around how many different agencies deliver broadband subsidies, all relying on different metrics and data — issues that will likely matter as part of Biden’s push for $100 billion in broadband investments in his infrastructure plan. 

Lina Khan’s unconventional ideas to take on tech companies’ power were decried as “hipster antitrust” by conservatives when her academic paper about Amazon went practically viral just a few years ago. But with anti-Silicon Valley sentiment mounting on both sides of the aisle in Congress, President Biden’s nominee to serve on the Federal Trade Commission received a relatively warm reception from senators as they weighed her nomination to become the youngest-ever commissioner of that body. Khan, a law professor and former FTC staffer, signaled in her testimony that she would bring an aggressive approach to regulating tech giants. That would mark a major reversal from the Obama era, when the agency took a largely hands-off approach to big mergers and acquisitions in the tech sector. Khan told senators in the last few years, new evidence has come to light showing there were “missed opportunities” for enforcement actions under the last Democratic administration. She said new findings show the FTC must be “much more vigilant” when it comes to large acquisitions in digital markets. Khan also argued she was particularly concerned about the ways in which large companies use their dominance in one market to give them an upper hand in others, an issue under intense scrutiny by Congress.

The European Union unveiled strict regulations to govern the use of artificial intelligence, a first-of-its-kind policy that outlines how companies and governments can use a technology seen as one of the most significant, but ethically fraught, scientific breakthroughs in recent memory. The draft rules would set limits around the use of artificial intelligence in a range of activities, from self-driving cars to hiring decisions, bank lending, school enrollment selections, and the scoring of exams. It would also cover the use of artificial intelligence by law enforcement and court systems — areas considered “high risk” because they could threaten people’s safety or fundamental rights. Some uses would be banned altogether, including live facial recognition in public spaces, though there would be several exemptions for national security and other purposes. The 108-page policy is an attempt to regulate an emerging technology before it becomes mainstream.