Biden to allocate $40 billion in internet connectivity
President Biden on Monday announced roughly $40 billion in funding to be allocated across the country in an effort to bring areas without internet access online in the coming years.
The White House billed the announcement as the kickoff of a three-week “investing in America” blitz, in which Biden and other officials will highlight how money from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and other legislation passed under Biden are boosting infrastructure around the country.
“Just like Franklin Delano Roosevelt delivered electricity to every home in America through his Rural Electrification Act, the announcement is part of President Biden’s broader effort to deliver investments, jobs, and opportunities directly to working and middle-class families across the country,” a White House official said.
Roughly 8.5 million locations across the country currently are not connected to the internet, the White House said.
Vice President Harris on Monday said 24 million people in the U.S. do not have access to high-speed internet either because they can’t afford it or because they live in communities without a fiber optic connection.
The House is limiting the usage of ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence chatbot that has skyrocketed in popularity since debuting in November, over privacy concerns.
Australian officials are set to introduce legislation that would implement fines for social media companies that fail to remove disinformation and misinformation from their platforms. The Sydney Morning Herald reported on Sunday that the parliament’s Communications Minister Michelle Rowland plans to release the draft legislation, giving the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) new powers to hold digital platforms …
Democratic Sens. Ed Markey (Mass.) and Gary Peters (Mich.) are requesting that the Government Accountability Office (GAO) review the potential harms of generative artificial intelligence (AI) as lawmakers mull possible regulations for the booming industry. The senators asked the nonpartisan government agency to conduct a “detailed technology assessment” of the risks of generative AI tools and how to mitigate them in their letter …
Canadians will no longer be able to share content on Facebook and Instagram, after the country’s legislature passed a law requiring the social media platforms to pay news outlets to share their stories. Meta, the parent company of the platforms, announced Thursday that it would follow through on plans to block the platforms. “We have repeatedly shared that in order to comply with Bill C-18, passed today in Parliament, …
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Fox News has announced major changes to its weekday prime-time lineup beginning next month. Jesse Watters’s 7 p.m. program will move to 8 p.m. … Read more