One Year Later: Fighting to Save the Digital Equity Act

Today, May 8, marks one year since President Trump declared on social media that he was ending the Digital Equity Act, in an effort to wipe away one of the federal government’s most important investments in getting connection to those most in need of it.

The Digital Equity Act, enacted through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, created three grant programs: a $60 million State Planning Program, a $1.44 billion Capacity Program, and a $1.25 billion Competitive Program. Together, they were meant to help states, territories, Tribal entities, and community organizations close the gap between having internet infrastructure nearby and being able to meaningfully participate in modern life.

This gap is exactly what digital equity addresses. Federal materials describe it as making sure people and communities have the skills, tools, and capacity needed for full participation in society and the economy. In practice, that means funding digital skills training, devices, local digital navigators, accessible support, and community-based programs that help people connect to jobs, school, telehealth, benefits, and public services.

Broadband access alone does not solve the problem if someone cannot afford a device, does not know how to navigate an online system, or has nowhere to turn when technology fails. That is the problem the Digital Equity Act was designed to address.

This is also what makes the attempted cancellation so damaging. On May 8, 2025, Trump posted that he was ending the program. On May 9, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) sent termination notices to grant recipients, a move advocates later challenged in court. While litigation is still ongoing, the threat has not gone away. The White House’s FY 2027 budget proposal still seeks to cancel the program’s funding.

One year later, the Digital Equity Act remains under direct attack.

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So Why Does It Matter?

When Digital Equity funds disappear, the loss does not stay abstract. It means fewer staff, fewer community organizations with the capacity to help, fewer devices, fewer digital literacy programs, and fewer trusted spaces where people can get support applying for jobs, accessing telehealth, completing schoolwork, connecting with benefits, or simply learning how to navigate systems that are increasingly online by default.

It undercuts the human infrastructure that makes broadband investments usable in everyday life.

That matters deeply for the many members of our LGBTQ+ community, especially those who are isolated, low-income, disabled, rural, or navigating hostile local environments. Digital access is often the route to safe information and opportunity that offline systems fail to provide. When digital equity programs are weakened, the harm falls hardest on the people who already have the least margin for error.

And the stakes are only getting higher as more of our daily lives move online and advance. The United States cannot talk seriously about innovation, workforce readiness, or AI competitiveness while cutting the very programs that help people build the skills, access, and support needed to participate. Canceling Digital Equity funding is not fiscally responsible. It is self-defeating.

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So What Can We Do?

First, speak up. Today's anniversary should not pass quietly. Share why digital equity matters to you, your community, or the people you serve. 

Second, contact your members of Congress and tell them to protect Digital Equity Act funding in the FY 2027 budget. 

Third, document the harm. Stories about lost services, delayed programs, reduced staffing, or people left without support are part of the record policymakers need to see.

Protecting digital equity funding is about protecting the ability of real people to participate in modern life. Congress created this investment for a reason. It should be defended like it matters, because it does.