Rural Americans Wait After Judge Delivers Mixed Ruling on Digital Equity Dollars

A federal judge in July gave digital equity advocates a partial victory against President Donald Trump, stopping his attempt to unilaterally kill a multibillion-dollar grant program Congress created. But U.S. District Judge John D. Bates, in a 35-page opinion, also agreed with the administration that it was unconstitutional for the government to use race or ethnicity as the basis to award money under a program created to expand internet skills and access. “It was definitely disappointing,” said Angela Siefer, executive director of the National Digital Inclusion Alliance, a nonprofit that filed suit last year after not receiving a nearly $26 million award meant to bolster digital and internet skills nationwide. “With this administration it’s really worrisome.” Congress passed the $2.75 billion Digital Equity Act in 2021 as the skill development component of a multilayered “Internet for All” initiative under President Joe Biden’s signature infrastructure law, which included a bigger pot of money for expanding internet infrastructure. A few months into his second term, Trump directly attacked the Digital Equity Act on social media, pledging “no more woke handouts” and calling the prog...