The affordable connectivity program and the access to the internet

The paper discusses the issue of the access to the internet and of digital literacy starting from the analysis of the Affordable Connectivity Program launched by the Biden-Harris administration and whose funding has not been renewed by the Congress. The paper claims that the access to the internet should be considered as a universal service, considering the role of enabler of rights that the net is increasingly playing. Nevertheless, the access to the internet is meaningless if people are not digitally educated to a technical and informed use the internet. Digital literacy programs should be fall within states’ responsibility, especially when considering the growing of importance of social media platforms in the political discourse. The concerns arising from the economic model of social media platforms under Section 230 CDA could be partially addressed by educating the netizens with prebunking.