Baltimore city council members call on FCC to help in fight to address digital divide

Three Baltimore city council members, Zeke Cohen, Kristerfer Burnett, and Ryan Dorsey, sent a letter to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to help close the digital divide. The three members, who got further support from 100 elected officials across the country, called upon the FCC to consider internet service providers (ISPs) as a utility company to promote fair and equitable internet access for families in Baltimore and across the US. To this aim, the letter asked the FCC to impose regulation on ISPs and to investigate the ‘digital redlining.’ ‘When we refer to digital redlining, we’re talking about the ways that ISPs like Comcast intentionally and at times inadvertently leave out entire black, brown, and indigenous neighborhoods. Reclassifying to Title II would enable them to recommit to net neutrality… it would allow them to eliminate data caps, which have been a very predatory practice,’ said Cohen.