Groups Oppose Bill Linking E-Rate Funds to Content Filtering

WASHINGTON, May 20, 2024 – Civil society groups are opposing a bipartisan bill in Congress that they say could compel schools relying on E-Rate funds to implement content filtering technologies that restrict students' access to critical information, even for schoolwork.

The letter released Thursday by the Open Technology Institute at New America, expressed concern that the Kids Off Social Media Act introduced in April by Sens. Brian Schatz, D-Hawai‘i, and Ted Cruz, R-Texas, could tie schools’ access to E-Rate funding to the use of AI-powered spyware to monitor students' online activities during and outside of school hours.