FCC Adopts Rules to Eliminate ‘Digital Discrimination’ for Communities with Poor Internet Access
The Washington Post: The Federal Communications Commission has enacted new rules intended to eliminate discrimination in access to internet services, a move which regulators are calling the first major U.S. digital civil rights policy.
Click here for the report.
Statement by Vice President Kamala Harris
Every person in America should be able to access affordable, high-speed Internet no matter where they live or how much they earn. When President Joe Biden and I took office, 30 million people across our country did not have access to high-speed Internet. Communities of color, Native communities, rural communities, and low-income households were disproportionately disconnected.
That is why we worked with Democrats and Republicans in Congress to make the largest investment in affordable, high-speed Internet in history – $65 billion to lower the cost of monthly Internet plans and build thousands of miles of fiber-optic cable to connect every household in our nation to high-speed Internet.
One provision of our Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that President Biden signed exactly two years ago directed the Federal Communications Commission to create first-of-its-kind rules to prevent digital discrimination. Today, the FCC answered our call by voting to adopt these necessary rules, taking a critical step to prohibit digital discrimination in high-speed Internet access based on income, race, ethnicity, religion, and national origin. These rules will protect civil rights, lower costs, and increase Internet access for Americans across the country.
President Biden and I understand that getting online can be a bridge to an education, a good-paying job, quality health care, and engagement with the broader world. We will not stop fighting to make it easier for everyone to access affordable, high-speed Internet. Today’s action is another important step toward fulfilling that vision.
Source: The Office of the Vice President
Note: From The G-Man conducted an exclusive investigation on the Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB) Program in November of 2021, which was later named the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). The report revealed that once the application for the Emergency Broadband Benefit had been submitted and approved, the $50 benefit would not be credited to the customer’s account for two billing cycles.
Additionally, the customer was responsible for paying the service charges incurred during the first two billing cycles, $49.99 per month, and a late fee of nearly $9.00 would be tacked on if a payment was not made by the specified date. In the end, a person on a fixed income or with limited financial resources would incur a $170.00 debt before the monthly $50 benefit was applied to the account. This included the $49.99 charge to have the tech visit the home and install the equipment. Additional charges, such as activation fees, would also be applied.
After the report was published, it was shared with the White House via its Twitter account. It was also shared with a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) official, who immediately submitted a response. In May of 2022, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris announced that Internet providers would offer significant discounts to people in impoverished communities.