Federal Government

The federal government has announced more than $100 million in grants to bring high-speed fiber Internet to many Southwest Alaska villages, part of a massive investment to close the digital divide in rural areas.

The federal funding is expected to connect 67,857 households and businesses to high-speed Internet, covering 23 percent of locations in the state without access to adequate service, according to officials.

Plus, NTIA has announced grantees through the Connecting Minority Communities program, broadband-related legislation has been introduced, Connect Maryland applications are open, and much more.

The Biden-Harris administration's Office of Science and Technology Policy has released new guidance on the use of artificial intelligence with the hope of better protecting citizens' rights.

The powerful biometric surveillance tools used to identify suspects are up to 100 times more likely to misidentify Asian and Black people compared with white men, according to a 2019 National Institute of Standards and Technology study.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is reporting that China and Russia are actively amplifying existing election misinformation in an effort to to interfere in the November midterms.

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called on the Federal Trade Commission to pressure businesses to protect consumer data. He also urged the Department of Justice to strengthen investigations and prosecutions of hackers.

The federal agency tasked with safeguarding U.S. cyber infrastructure is pushing to make cybersecurity a “kitchen table issue.” Director Jen Easterly said her mission has been, in part, to cut the “nerdspeak.”

Plus, Chicago has posted a new RFI related to expanding broadband access throughout the entire city, Pittsburgh has announced a new digital equity coalition, North Carolina has a digital equity grant program and more.

The Urban Institute’s new report around autonomous vehicles advises they have the potential to greatly improve the transportation systems in the United States, with the proposed set of regulatory controls and incentives.

The federal Affordable Connectivity Program helps people get high-speed Internet at home for $30 a month, but enrollment is at less than 40 percent among eligible households across the country.

Plus, the NTIA has updated its guide for federal broadband funding; New York City is offering free municipal broadband to housing authority residents; a new paper explores telehealth’s impact on maternal health; and more.

Karen Dahut worked on cloud, data science and other technologies at the consulting firm, and has experience working with public agencies. The recently launched Google Public Sector helps governments improve digitally.

Gabe Klein has been named as the head of the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation, charged with overseeing the buildout of some 500,000 high-speed public chargers across the nation, among other projects.

CSC 2.0, the successor to the Congress-backed Cybersecurity Solarium Commission, has released its first annual assessment since becoming part of a D.C. think tank, marking progress on dozens of federal cyber policies.

The Department of Homeland Security released the long-anticipated Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program. A separate NOFO for the Tribal Cybersecurity Grant Program will follow.

Adversarial foreign nations might use data about specific politicians to blackmail them or troves of data about the public to refine disinformation campaigns, according to a Senate hearing. Getting that data could entail hacking or simply purchasing from data brokers.

Plus, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is now accepting applications for a program that will invest $1 billion in rural high-speed Internet, Tennessee has announced $447 million in broadband investments, and more.