The Federal Communications Commission seeks comment on the contours and specific requirements of the proposed 2023 Mandatory Data Collection for incarcerated people’s communications services (IPCS). This public notice is an effort to help implement the Martha Wright-Reed Just and Reasonable Communications Act of 2022 (Martha Wright-Reed Act or Act). In recent years, the FCC has collected data from providers of calling services for incarcerated people as part of its ongoing efforts to establish just and reasonable rates for those services that reduce the financial burdens imposed on incarcerated people and their loved ones, while ensuring that providers are fairly compensated for their services. In requiring or allowing the FCC to consider certain types of costs, the new Act contemplates that the FCC would undertake additional data collection. To ensure that it has the data it needs to meet its substantive and procedural responsibilities under the Act, the FCC  delegated authority to Wireline Competition Bureau/Office of Economics and Analytics to “update and restructure” the Commission’s most recent data collection “as appropriate in light of the requirements of the new statute.”

While a municipal broadband system in Worcester (MA) could cost the city upwards of $250 million, officials are still considering the feasibility of such a project to address gaps in digital access among residents. Chairwoman and City Councilor Etal Haxhiaj requested the city administration conduct a feasibility study to “serve as a blueprint for a broadband master plan that outlines policies, designs, business and financial model options,” as well as apply for the state’s Municipal Digital Equity Planning Program to help learn what digital equity gaps exist in Worcester. Currently, Charter Communications’ Spectrum and Verizon are the only internet providers in Worcester. That money would have to come from the city itself, as state and federal government programs helping municipalities build similar systems are generally aimed at more rural areas that do not already have internet access. However,  Worcester Chief Information Officer Michale Hamel said, another possibility would be to work with a private internet service provider to build a fiber network for the city.

In order to visit some websites, internet users Louisiana have to provide proof that they were at least 18. That’s because Louisiana lawmakers had passed legislation last year requiring publishers of online material that could be “harmful to minors” to verify that their users were adults. Louisiana is at the forefront of a sweeping national push to insulate young people from potentially harmful content by requiring certain online services to bar or limit minors on their platforms. As a result, people in many other states may soon find that they, too, need to use credentials like digitized drivers’ licenses to access a host of services, including popular social media apps. The proposed restrictions, introduced by at least two dozen states, could alter not only the online experiences of children and adolescents. They could also remake the internet for millions of adults, ushering in a tectonic cultural shift to a stricter, age-gated online world.