SIIA Statement on NTIA Assistant Secretary Arielle Roth’s Testimony before the Communications & Technology Subcommittee of the House Energy & Commerce Committee

The following statement from the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) can be attributed to Paul Lekas, Executive Vice President, Global Public Policy and Government Affairs.

SIIA shares NTIA Assistant Secretary Arielle Roth's concern about excessive, unstructured screen time, and we agree that screens should never become the default in our classrooms. However, NTIA and the FCC are conflating two very different things: passive, recreational screen time and purpose-built tools that support teachers and students while protecting student privacy. This is not only our distinction. The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction's Guidance for Purposeful Screen Use in Schools draws this same line: active screen use supports learning when it is intentional and clearly connected to instruction-engaging students in problem-solving, supporting creation and collaboration, building digital literacy, and expanding access for individualized learning needs. What matters is whether technology use is purposeful and developmentally appropriate, not screen time alone.

A legitimate debate about passive, unstructured screen time should not be used to weaken E-Rate, because screen time and connectivity are not the same thing. E-Rate funds the broadband and network infrastructure that connects students to learning-and that today underpins online testing, school security systems, and daily building operations-not the hours a device happens to be on. The right policy response is precision: address genuine concerns about distraction, privacy, inappropriate content, and parental oversight directly, rather than severing the connectivity that closes the digital divide.

SIIA welcomes the opportunity to work with the Assistant Secretary and NTIA on solving these important policy questions while protecting the tools that teachers and students rely on to succeed.