For far too long, internet companies have refused service to low-income and minority communities. And, in light of the Covid-19 pandemic, it has only become more evident that a change in how we provide internet service is needed--namely, banning the practice of digital redlining.

Digital redlining is the practice of refusing to provide internet services to certain areas because those locations won't bring in enough of a profit. 

Study after study after study prove that major internet companies (such as Verizon and AT&T) deliberately choose to deploy their services in areas they know can afford it. This systematically excludes entire communities from a basic necessity in both the workforce and education. 

I live in a rural location, and I have seen first-hand how our internet service provider refuses to invest in digging internet lines out to our location purely because providing higher-quality internet to our home wouldn't be profitable enough for them. 

However, places like Detroit, Michigan feel the effects of digital redlining on a more wide-spread scale. Almost 44% of Detroit citizens are completely offline, and most of these citizens reside in low-income, minority neighborhoods. 

It's crucial that we establish the urgency of this problem to the Federal Communications Commission. Banning digital redlining will make the internet more accessible to rural, low-income, and minority communities, while also combatting the profit-driven nature of internet companies. These companies are supposed to be providing us with a necessity for living in the Covid-19 pandemic, so let's be sure they do so--unencumbered with bias.