Individuals who are Members of a Racial or Ethnic Minority Group

Congressional failure to pass comprehensive federal data privacy legislation means the vast majority of people in the United States lack protection. This inaction has left an opening for state legislatures to enact their own privacy laws, and, as of now, 19 states have some form of comprehensive data privacy laws on the books. However, many of these states’ laws lack critical protections, including preventing discriminatory uses of data. The imperative to protect privacy is great.

Digital safety is a growing concern among experts and lawmakers, and among those surveyed for state digital equity planning efforts. Digital risk impacts everyone who interacts directly with internet-enabled devices as well as those exploited, marginalized, or surveilled by algorithmic and data-dependent systems. My latest research examines the tensions between the goals of:

This document was created to support applicants in applying for the State Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program: Native Entities (2024). The Notice of Funding Opportunity establishes a competitive process to make both State Digital Equity Planning Grant Program funds and State Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program funds available to Native Entities to carry out digital equity and inclusion activities consistent with the Digital Equity Act. Proposed projects should address barriers to digital equity and promote:

The Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), a federally funded program providing discounted internet service to economically disadvantaged households, officially ended on June 1, 2024, due to lack of funding from Congress.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) released Version 4.0 of the Competitive Grant Program Frequently Asked Questions and Answers. The FAQs provide an overview of the program in general. It also clarifies the differences between the three programs created by the Digital Equity Act: 

1. The State Digital Equity Planning Grant Program
2. The State Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program
3. The Digital Equity Competitive Grant Program

The lack of broadband in many rural and Tribal communities in the U.S. is widely recognized, but there are also claims of a lack of broadband availability in predominantly minority and urban communities, sometimes labeled digital redlining or digital discrimination. Motivated by such claims, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 includes a provision addressing digital discrimination and directing the Federal Communications Commission to write rules implementing the statutory provision.

In May 2022, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) published an oft-quoted report that described federal funding for broadband as a “fragmented, overlapping patchwork.” Despite more than 100 broadband-related programs investing millions of dollars into deployment, affordability, planning, digital skills, and connective devices, GAO found that “millions of Americans still lack broadband, and communities with limited resources may be most affected by fragmentation.” GAO asked the National Telecommunications and Information Administra

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) awarded Phoenix College more than $4.25 million from the Connecting Minority Communities Pilot Program to improve high-speed Internet service capacity and workforce development training.

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed a critical lack of digital equity in the United States, particularly in Indian Country. As previous Center for Indian Country Development (CICD) research has shown, before the pandemic households on federally recognized reservations were less likely to have home Internet and faced substantial

The Biden-Harris Administration’s Internet for All initiative is delivering on its promise to connect everyone in America to affordable, reliable high-speed Internet service by 2030. Since the President took office, more than 2.4 million previously unserved homes and small businesses have been connected to high-speed Internet service. Below are highlights of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s (NTIA) achievements under the Biden-Harris Administration.