Research

Federal agencies have already begun leveraging AI to empower existing agency missions and streamline programs. While use cases vary in application and maturity, the benefits of responsible government use of AI are potentially transformative. However, irresponsible or improper use fosters risks to individual privacy, security, and the fair and equal treatment of all citizens by their government. Key findings include:

Middleware, third-party software intermediaries between users and platforms, offers a promising solution to counter the concentrated power of social media platforms. The term has referred to a variety of technologies and systems over the years, including third-party provider tools that platforms themselves use internally.

The fifth installment of USTelecom’s Broadband Pricing Index (BPI) shows that prices for high-speed broadband internet services continue to decline—even as upload and download speeds rapidly advance. Key findings include:

• 55% of broadband customers choose 100-940 Mbps service ("BPI-Speed")
• BPI-Speed prices dropped 9.4% in the last year and 60% since 2015

A growing body of work has identified a digital language divide: the disparity between languages in terms of digital content availability, accessibility, and technological support.

Journalism is facing a trust crisis. Audiences are increasingly skeptical that mainstream media serves their interests and are turning their attention away from traditional news outlets. Meanwhile, online content creators who engage in journalist-style work are building huge, loyal audiences that eclipse those of traditional media. This shift in attention can be attributed, in part, to the different types of relationships that journalists and creators have with their audiences. This paper examines these relationships through the lens of trustworthiness.

In 2022, President Joe Biden (D-DE) signed the Data Mapping to Save Moms' Lives Act, which directs the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to “incorporate publicly available data on maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity into the agency’s Mapping Broadband Health in America platform, in consultation with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.” The bipartisan bill was introduced in 2021 by Sens.

Amid national concerns about technology’s impact on youth, many teens are as digitally connected as ever. Most teens use social media and have a smartphone, and nearly half say they’re online almost constantly, according to a new Pew Research Center survey of U.S. teens ages 13 to 17 conducted Sept. 18-Oct. 10, 2024. Some key takeaways:

The Digital Equity Researcher Inventory is a listing of researchers who have published research about broadband adoption and digital inclusion. Researchers from a multitude of academic disciplines and types of organizations have contributed to what we know about digital equity. The diversity of disciplines and sectors that researchers come from represents a rich variety of approaches to research and it demonstrates the importance of digital equity across fields.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) is seeking public input on the potential writing of ethical guidelines for the use of “pervasive data” in research. “Pervasive data” refers to data about people gathered through online services. NTIA will rely on these comments, along with stakeholder engagements, in considering whether to draft and issue non-binding guidelines to assist researchers working with pervasive data.

Nearly 30 state broadband officers attended the recent Fierce Network Broadband Nation Expo in Washington, D.C., where they outlined some of their top concerns related to the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program. Some of their top issues include when they will disburse funds for broadband projects, who will bid for BEAD monies, what types of technologies they’ll use to deliver broadband to unserved locations and how they’ll set the high-cost thresholds in their states. State broadband officers also talked about the cost and availability of middle-mile networks.