The United States is a global technology leader, yet millions of Americans lack the internet access, devices, or skills to benefit from its technological capabilities or participate fully in the digital economy. Recognizing this divide in 2021, Congress passed the largest federal investment in broadband in U.S. history, encompassing both the Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program and the Digital Equity Act. Together, these measures aim to expand broadband access and infrastructure while ensuring that people have the skills and resources needed to adopt and use these technologies.
But the two have come under increased scrutiny during the second Trump administration, which in May 2025 moved to terminate the Digital Equity Act’s grant programs, arguing that the programs’ considerations of certain historically “underserved” ethnic and racial groups were…
