AB 2239 (DIGITAL DISCRIMINATION)
Fall 2024 Update: In close partnership with the California Alliance for Digital Equity (CADE), #OU helped to advance AB 2239 farther than anyone thought possible. Despite unprecedented opposition from corporate interests, the bill passed through five committees in the CA Assembly and Senate. Next legislative session, #OU will continue to work alongside Assemblymember Bonta and our diverse statewide coalition to pass this bill and ban digital discrimination of access!
PRIORITY #2
Pass AB 2239 - Digital Discrimination (Bonta)
Although it's been four years since the COVID-19 pandemic began - a time when the stark realities of the digital divide shocked so many of us —California’s communities of color and low-income communities remain disproportionately disconnected to the internet.
Why? The digital divide is in part due to Internet service providers (ISPs) discriminatory business practices. Large ISPs prioritize building and upgrading their broadband infrastructure in affluent, white neighborhoods in order to maximize profit, a practice that mirrors decades of redlining dating back to the 1930s.
The Result? Historically marginalized communities’ access to education, health care, jobs, housing, public benefits, and civic life is restricted, creating widespread disparity across our city and the state. In Oakland, we found connections in our highest income zip code–with the largest population of white residents–were nearly ten times faster than in our poorest—with the city's largest population of People of Color.
Without internet access, one simply cannot participate in today’s society. Make no mistake, this is THE civil rights issue of our modern, digital age, and it's time we come together to combat the discrimination that is taking place head on.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
1) Sign on to a letter of support
The letter will be sent to California legislators that sit on key committees as AB 2239 makes it way through the legislative cycle.
2) Support for AB 2239 on social media
Our Digital Discrimination Fact Sheet & Advocate Toolkit offers sample social media posts that you can utilize to raise awareness of the campaign and showcase your support.
Click HERE to learn more.
NEWS ABOUT AB2239
Digital Equity Advocacy Day in Sacramento
