#Internet Affordability

[ivygorgon]

AN OPEN LETTER to THE U.S. CONGRESS

Fund the Affordable Connectivity Program NOW!

130 so far! Help us get to 250 signers!

I’m a concerned constituent writing to urge you to fund the Affordable Connectivity Program or ACP. Digital connectivity is a basic necessity in our modern world and the internet must be treated as a public utility. We use the internet to apply for jobs, perform our jobs, receive telehealth medical treatment, and pay bills, and students use it to complete homework assignments. But for millions of people in rural and urban areas, and Tribal communities, the internet is a luxury they cannot afford. Failure by Congress to fund this program will force millions of households already on tight budgets to choose between being able to stay online or potentially losing access to this essential service. If Congress doesn’t act fast, funding for the Affordable Connectivity Program will run out and more than 22 million Americans -- 1 in 6 households -- will lose this vital service. The implications of this will be devastating. In 2019, 18% of Native people living on Tribal land had no internet access; 33% relied on cell phone service for the internet; and 39% had spotty or no connection to the internet at home on their smart phone. The ACP has enrolled 320,000 households on Tribal lands -- important progress. The largest percentage gains in broadband access are in rural areas. Nearly half of military families are enrolled in ACP, as are one in four African American and Latino households. Losing access and training on using computers and the internet will have devastating impacts on all these communities as technology becomes increasingly integral to work, education, health, and our everyday lives. Without moves to address tech inequality, low-income communities and communities of color are heading towards an “unemployment abyss.” The Affordable Connectivity Program has broad bipartisan support because it is working. As your constituent, I am urging you to push for renewed funding for the ACP before it runs out in the coming weeks.

▶ Created on April 11 by Jess Craven

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[rasoyas]

the sulani arc ‘fits y’all didn’t get to see 🏝️

[unpretty]

on the one hand oversharing will probably come back to bite me in the ass eventually. on the other hand it's very validating to see that kind of response to what i consider the least bad things about scabsy. perhaps occasionally bitching to the groupchat or in locked fedi posts is not giving them an unwarranted amount of my attention, actually.

[dcgritty]

macklin celebrini looking around the sharks locker room after a loss

[morebird]

Just wanted to let everyone know that if you wanted a print of either of the "priests" I added both of them to my inprnt shop

[beaft]

at this point in my life i feel very "marsha thankk you for the dialectics but i need you to leave" about diagnostic labels, not because i think those labels are fake or stupid but because i personally can't do much with them. i would love nothing more than to have an appointment with a psychiatrist where they sit down with me for 3 hours and take a full life history and then at the end they tell me "you are autistic" or "you have OCD" and prescribe me The Vitamin that will make all of my problems vanish, but since that won't happen all i can really do is read books and go, "yeah that sounds like me" and then proceed to do nothing with that information

[propalahramota]

Fun how the great women's rights defender JKR used her massive media platform to accuse a biologically female athlete of being a bloke without even a shred of consideration that the above mentioned athlete will go home to her rather conservative country after the games and potentially have to deal with unpleasant and even dangerous consequences of having one of the most famous persons alive publicly lied that you were a male in disguise

[buddivorce]

i think what we need to consider about people who wish ao3 had likes/dislikes/algorithm/extra kudos is that they've never used another archive in their life. they've had no reason to search jstor for anything. no one is teaching the kids about internet archives. do they even know about archive dot org

[gremlynn-draws]

For the sake of advancing my art career and gaining more visibility I should do more on Tik Tok. I should. There are also videos that I have enjoyed on the platform as well. But oh my god that constant short form content and the seamless interface is incredibly overstimulating. I want to give being more active on there another try and see what kind of art videos people are posting....if my adhd brain allows for it.

[skyrim-forever]

The internet can be so fucking annoying 🙄

I’ve been trying to post more YouTube comments because I’m trying to engage more with creators I like there. I left a comment on a community tab post discussing tariffs and if business is moving to be more local and if that’s a good thing.

I said yes because I think a lot of people (myself included at times) don’t know where the products they buy come from, they just buy what they need without checking where it’s made. I also said that I’ve been making more of an effort to support local businesses in my area.

And then someone replied with “your privilege is showing” 🙄🙄🙄

This just pissed me the fuck off because yes I have a lot of privileges; I am able-bodied unlike my mother who raised me in poverty on welfare, I have a Master’s degree, I am from Canada, etc.

But right now I am in the process of a breakup, the lease is not in my name and I don’t have consistent income. I work short-term contract that although at a very good rate, I only have work for 2 months at a time. I can’t rent a place even with roommates yet without more savings or stable work. Luckily I have friends I can stay with for a bit, but I can’t afford to live on my own. And I’m even more privileged to have $60k in student debt 🥰 I pay $630 a month in student loans. I lost my back tooth at 18 because I couldn’t afford the dentist. I still can’t afford the dentist! I’m so privileged that I can’t move back home if I can’t afford to live because my mother is in social housing, I can’t live there since I’m not her dependent.

But yes, going to the pharmacy and buying shampoo and conditioner made in Canada is peak privilege. Not like I’ve been out here trying to give up what I can because I know not everyone can choose non-US items, that’s why I do my part.

[destielmemenews]

"Dozens of people joined Biden administration officials, advocates and U.S. Sen. Peter Welch, a Democrat from Vermont, at a Washington public library on Tuesday to make a last-ditch plea to extend the Affordable Connectivity Program, a subsidy created by Congress and touted by President Joe Biden as part of his push to bring internet access to every U.S. household. The program, which is set to expire at the end of May, helps people with limited means pay their broadband bills.

“They need access to high-speed internet just like they need access to electricity,” Sen. Welch told the gathering. “This is what is required in a modern economy.”"

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[deansleftasscheek]

i need them both, immediately, thankyouverymuch.

[defleftist]

If I may put on my tinfoil hat for a moment, this is a really opportune time to try banning tik tok and shutting down the Affordable Connectivity Program which sought to provide internet access to low income folks. Our government is quite literally restricting our access to information right as it continues to financially support the genocidal apartheid state of Israel. I take this as a sign they fear the working class and our power. Time to rise up.

[d-dantes]

Old man ass Dante still using a landline at least upgrade to a Nokia for christs sake

[jadebread64]

praying that switch2 games will run well on steamdeck because you will not fucking catch my ass paying $630 CAD for a fucking game console ON IT'S OWN and then paying $100 each for just the fucking games that will never go on sale ever lol. nintendo is the richest gaming company in japan with a market cap of $81 billion btw

[forestdeity]

actually wtf someone shot my friends cat????!! his literal best fucking friend. im seething who tf i wish we could find the person and put them tf down