Free Geek employee Ashley Martinez points to the screen while helping John Castro during a keyboard basics class offered by Free Geek on May 15, 2025, in Portland, Oregon. — AP
PORTLAND, Oregon: One programmeme distributes laptops in rural Iowa. Another helped people get back online after Hurricane Helene washed away computers and phones in western North Carolina. Programmes in Oregon and rural Alabama teach older people, including some who have never touched a computer, how to navigate in an increasingly digital world.
It all came crashing down this month when US President Donald Trump – on his own digital platform, Truth Social – announced his intention to end the Digital Equity Act, a federal grant programme meant to help bridge the digital divide. He branded it as "RACIST and ILLEGAL” and said it amounts to "woke handouts based on race”. He said it was an "ILLEGAL US$2.5 BILLION DOLLAR giveaway," though the programme was actually funded with US$2.75bil (RM11.57bil).
