New America

In our increasingly digitized world, it is critical to protect individuals’ privacy. As policymakers consider passing meaningful privacy legislation, civil rights protections are a critical but mostly overlooked component. To have effective privacy legislation, we must ensure that companies’ data practices do not violate individuals’ civil rights—especially when it comes to marginalized communities.

Protecting privacy is especially important for marginalized communities, who are disproportionately harmed by the exploitation of personal information enabled by inadequate privacy protections.

Around the country, local governments are grappling with the challenge of getting quality broadband access to their citizens, but without data about what speeds customers are actually experiencing, making effective policy becomes impossible. Internet speed tests can help inform those policies, and while there are several tests available to users, they are not all the same.

New America’s Open Technology Institute called on the Federal Communications Commission to reject a petition that would harm the E-Rate program, which helps schools and libraries access broadband service. Access Humboldt; National Consumer Law Center, on behalf of its low-income clients; Next Century Cities; Public Knowledge; and United Church of Christ, OC Inc. signed onto the comments as well.

Broadband deployment is important. But deployment is just one piece of the digital divide. Another crucial piece of the puzzle: the cost of broadband service. Policymakers can’t afford to leave out the collection of pricing data. Affordability is the biggest barrier to broadband adoption, yet is continually left out of the conversation about availability. For many Americans, this lack of focus on pricing data results in a flawed picture of access, hinders policymaking, and distorts funding decisions that could promote competition in their areas.