Access Now 20 May 2021 | 6:00 am
Online entities have largely been allowed to collect any data they want about any person and use it for any purpose, so long as they are transparent about those practices. These practices, however, can cause extensive harm to people, including data-driven discrimination. Access Now’s new report
Data minimization is the concept that companies should collect only the data necessary to provide their product or service, and nothing more. Unfortunately, that is not what typically happens. Data mining has become commonplace as storage has become cheaper and the internet has become more pervasive. Without safeguards, organizations
The Biden administration has made internet access a key part of his American Jobs Plan. (Toby Talbot/AP/File)
More than 30 million Americans don t have access to high-speed internet, according to the White House. Getting them online is a key component of President Biden s American Jobs Plan.
Here & Now s Tonya Mosley speaks with
Willmary Escoto, U.S. policy analyst at Access Now, and
Darrah Blackwater, a member of the Navajo Nation who researches the digital divide there.
This segment aired on April 15, 2021.
Access Now 2 April 2021 | 3:53 pm
Announced this week, the Biden administration’s American Jobs Plan would allocate $100 billion to improve internet access in the United States. Access Now applauds the proposal.
The plan aims to deliver high-speed broadband to every household in the U.S., which could lead to closing the digital divide once and for all. It is unclear if Congress will quickly work to approve the proposal, but the Biden administration’s commitment to ensuring 100 percent broadband coverage, particularly in underserved areas, is a big step in the right direction.
Among other goals, the plan aims to:
prioritize broadband deployment in rural and urban areas (with a focus on locally- or municipally-owned networks),