Philly, Pennsylvania risk losing Digital Equity Act programs after Trump administration rules them ‘unconstitutional'

Technical.ly

4 days ago

The governments of Pennsylvania and its largest city received federal termination notices related to the Digital Equity Act, cutting money to help Pennsylvanians access devices and digital skills.
Memos from the US Department of Commerce said at least one program within the Digital Equity Act violated the constitution because it outlines specific 'racial preferences,' even though advocates say that racial minorities are only one type of underserved population that the law seeks to support. The specific initiative the department highlighted was supposed to bring increased access to devices, digital literacy and other skills needed to effectively use the internet.
'The Digital Equity Capacity Program … is unconstitutional and grants issued pursuant to it were created with, and administered using, impermissible and unconstitutional racial preferences,' read the termination letter received and confirmed by Pennsylvania's Department of Community and Economic Development.
The Digital Equity Act is one of two digital access initiatives within the Biden administration's Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). It incorporates three grant programs, including the aforementioned Digital Equity Capacity Program and Digital Equity Competitive Grant. The latter initiative allowed entities to apply for funding directly from the National Telecommunications Information Administration (NTIA), an agency within the Commerce Department.
Recommendations for Competitive Grant recipients were announced in January, and the NTIA selected the City of Philadelphia to receive $11.9 million. These funds were going to support an internet subsidy program, laptop kiosks, esports centers and other efforts to make the internet more accessible to Philadelphians.
The city never received a formal contract for this grant, though, according to Kate Rivera, executive director of Philly-based digital equity nonprofit the Technology Learning Collaborative (TLC), which partnered with the city on its grant application.
In May, the Department of Commerce sent a notice letting grantees know they would not receive the awards.
'All Digital Equity Competitive and Digital Equity Capacity grant awards have been terminated, except for grants to Native Entities, which are pending further legal review,' read the notice received and confirmed by the city's Office of Innovation and Technology.
The other funding streams within the Digital Equity Act are the State Digital Equity Planning Grant Program and the Digital Equity Capacity Program. Each state received funds from the Planning Grant Program to create a digital equity plan, then was recommended for additional money from the Capacity Program to put the in motion. Pennsylvania received $1.6 million to create a Statewide Digital Equity plan, which was completed in January 2024.
The commonwealth was supposed to get $25 million to implement that plan, for which the state would then issue a request for proposal to subgrant much of those funds to orgs across the state.
Pennsylvania was not as far along in the process of distributing this funding as some other states were, said Drew Garner, director of policy engagement at the advocacy organization the Benton Institute for Broadband and Society.
Many states were in the process of administering their subgrant programs, but Pennsylvania hadn't even opened up applications yet. This was partially due to delays in approving the Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority's Digital Skills and Community Capacity Program guidelines in April.
Digital Equity Act removal could affect most Pennsylvanians
In early May, shortly before these termination notices were sent out, President Donald Trump called the Digital Equity Act 'unconstitutional' and 'racist' in a post on Truth Social.
These concerns seem to come from the fact that the Digital Equity Act defines a list of eight 'covered populations,' or groups of people most impacted by the digital divide, Rivera said.
The goal of identifying those groups was to make sure the funded projects address the needs of people who need it most, Rivera said. Applicants had to show that they could reach these populations.
One of the designated populations is ethnic and racial minorities, which the president appears especially focused on, she said. The other populations include seniors (people over 60), people with disabilities, veterans and residents of rural communities. 79.4% of Pennsylvania's population falls under covered populations, according to the Census Bureau.
'Just one out of the [eight] covered populations really has a reference to race and ethnicity,' she said. 'But it's not a discriminatory requirement where people would be turned away from receiving services if they're not a racial and ethnic minority.'
Technical.ly reached out to the NTIA, asking why the Digital Equity Act was deemed unconstitutional, but did not immediately receive a response.
Federal decisions hurt digital equity beyond dollars
The end of the Digital Equity Act doesn't just impact the programs that were supposed to receive direct funding: It also affects the wider strategy of what was supposed to be a historic investment in digital inclusion, Rivera from TLC said.
The Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program is the other digital access initiative administered through the IIJA. Pennsylvania was supposed to receive $1.16 billion to build out broadband infrastructure that would bring internet service to unserved and underserved parts of the state. This funding is now delayed.
However, even if BEAD moves forward as planned, the program won't have as much of an impact without the Digital Equity Act, Garner from the Benton Institute said. That funding supported programs to ensure people can actually use the internet to improve their lives.
'It is only through digital adoption, having devices, having skills, that Pennsylvania will really see the economic benefit of BEAD,' Garner said.
The Digital Equity Act is a law, so the expectation is that state attorneys general will sue the Trump administration for breaking the law, he said. Pennsylvania's attorney general did not immediately respond to Technical.ly's request for comment.
In the meantime, organizations can't do much besides continuing to advocate for the program with legislators and preparing as if the money will return, Rivera said.
'Eventually, when the tide turns again, and there is funding again for digital equity work,' Rivera said, 'we will be ready, like we were ready for this funding.'