Tackling Digital Discrimination

• TL:DR (Too Long Didn’t Read) summary: join the fight to end digital discrimination in California: 1) Learn more about digital discrimination in CA, 2) Sign on to support Asm. Bonta’s AB2239 to end it, and 3) Join a virtual town hall with Asm. Bonta, CCF CEO Miguel Santana, and other partners and co-sponsors on April 4th to get the details.

2024 is shaping up to be a turning point in the fight for digital equity in Los Angeles and across California.

In January, the Los Angeles City Council unanimously passed Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson’s groundbreaking motion to create the nation’s first municipal digital discrimination ordinance. 

Learn more:

• Los Angeles Cracks Down On 'Digital Discrimination' By Internet Service Providers (LAist)

• Los Angeles Becomes First U.S. City to Outlaw Digital Discrimination (The Markup)

• Los Angeles Becomes First U.S. City to Outlaw Digital Discrimination (Governing)

• Los Angeles Passes Resolution Banning Digital Redlining by ISPs (BroadbandBreakfast)

• LA Leads Way In Push To Leverage FCC’s New Digital Discrimination Rules For Local Action (ILSR) 

In February, Oakland’s Assemblymember Mia Bonta took the fight against digital discrimination statewide. Her bill will make California the first state to adopt the FCC’s recent definition of digital discrimination, making it against California law and creating mechanisms to prevent, investigate, and remedy ISP policies that have disparate impact on some California communities.  

Learn more:

• Assemblymember Mia Bonta Introduces Landmark “Digital Discrimination”  Legislation in California (Press Release)

• Calif. Bill Would Codify How FCC Defines 'Digital Discrimination’ (Communications Daily)

• California Could Become First State To Outlaw 'Digital Discrimination' (LAist)

This month Digital Equity LA (DELA), along with our statewide partners at the CA Alliance for Digital Equity (CADE) and allies across the state launched the campaign to end digital discrimination, and April brings critical opportunities to join us!

Three urgent action items 

1. Learn more about digital discrimination in California on the newly launched campaign website: cadigitalequity.org

1. Don’t miss the resources page with reports, news links, and more

2. Join a virtual town hall next Thursday, April 4th, at 11am with Assemblymember Bonta, CCF President and CEO Miguel Santana, and other digital equity leaders. Register here: bit.ly/AB2239TownHall

3. Sign on to the AB2239 support letter in time for the bill’s first hearing in the Assembly Communications and Conveyance Committee April 10th (deadline 10am April 5th).

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As always, there’s never a dull moment in the work to advance digital equity! A sampling of other moving pieces to have on your radar are summarized below. If you have any questions about any of these or want to get more involved in them, get in touch at hello@digitalequityla.org!

• New Report from DELA partners CAA in San Francisco documents digital discrimination, offers critical remedies.

Our friends and partners at Chinese for Affirmative Action (CA) released a new report (inspired by the CCF + DELA pricing report) that takes a deep dive into ISP practices in San Francisco’s immigrant neighborhoods, including pricing, service quality, and customer service disparities. This report is an extraordinary resource! San Francisco’s Digital Deserts: How San Francisco Chinatown and other neighborhoods are left behind in the digital divide

• Still no transparency, no equity, no justice in ~$4B CA Middle Mile Program

In late August, we raised the alarm about decisions made in the state’s $4B Middle Mile Broadband program that disinvested from the least connected communities (e.g., South LA) in favor of doubling down on spending in wealthy, well-connected areas (e.g., Beverly Hills). The LA Times said it best - Editorial: Newsom throws South L.A. under the broadband bus.

Good news: In response to extraordinary public outcry, Governor Newsom made good on a commitment to a budget ask to ensure all of the promised network would be built, including those segments in high-need communities that the CA Dept of Technology has pushed to the back of the line, where currently allocated funding runs out.

Bad news: California is facing a budget crisis, and this funding is anything but assured. In the meantime, the California Department of Technology continues to operate in secrecy, without any meaningful accountability or opportunities for affected communities to provide input into the agency's decision-making. The screenshot pasted below is an example of what transparency means to CDT (this was provided in response to a Public Records Act request to the agency regarding procurement processes for the middle mile, and is representative of what they’ve provided.)

• AT&T Fighting to Leave Communities Behind

AT&T has filed a petition with the California Public Utilities Commission to end its “Carrier of Last Resort” (COLR) obligations. This means it will no longer be legally required to maintain or offer traditional telephone service. Equity advocates oppose the move.

Learn more about this battle: Experts Say Landlines Are Crucial In An Emergency And Are Opposing AT&T’s Request To Phase Them Out (LAist) || What Would Happen If AT&T Gets Rid Of Landlines? Angelenos Are Weighing In (LAist)|| Landlines are dying out. But to some, they’re a lifeline. (Washington Post) 

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As always, if you’re interested in discussing these items or any of the other work DELA is leading and supporting, don’t hesitate to contact us. If you do not represent an incumbent ISP or any of their industry associations or astroturf campaigns, join our monthly coalition calls (coalition calls are reserved for equity advocates, local officials, and community broadband champions). Register here