Elena Miles
Student
FCC Petition Demanding Internet Access Passes 35,000 Signatures
Education activists from around the country came together in the spring to demand that the FCC immediately update the Keep Americans Connected pledge to urge internet providers to waive their restrictions on low-income households and provide the free internet they promised during the pandemic.
That petition has exceeded 39,000 signatures, and it’s still growing.
The petition has gotten a boost from former Education Secretary Arne Duncan and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush. Duncan even wrote in the Washington Post demanding that the FCC respond.
As of now, the FCC has dodged its responsibility to help families secure internet access, whether it’s low-income students in our urban centers, or the millions of families in rural America who still have no broadband infrastructure.
Oakland Activists Get Comcast to Change National Policy
With Oakland Unified School District making the transition from traditional classrooms to remote teaching and e-learning in light of the COVID-19 crisis, Dirk Tillotson – education activist and executive director of Great School Voices – knew that many low-income families would fall through the gap of the digital divide.
After discovering that there were restrictions in Comcast’s offer to provide 60 days of free internet for low-income families, Dirk circulated a petition demanding that the provider remove provisions prohibiting access to indebted, high-need families. After collecting over 2,000 signatures, Comcast Oakland has committed to connect any family that needs it, no preconditions. This is what happens when communities take action together! Follow more of Dirk’s activism on Twitter.
