SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

NTIA seeks feedback under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) on a set of questions for the November 2027 edition of the U.S. Census Bureau's Current Population Survey (CPS). This collection of questions is known as the NTIA internet Use Survey and is also referred to as the CPS Computer and internet Use Supplement. NTIA has sponsored eighteen such surveys since 1994.

The NTIA internet Use Survey has long been a key resource for evidence-based policymaking, and an improved set of survey questions could further inform key policy choices at a particularly important time for our nation. From artificial intelligence to online services, the internet is of immense importance to the nation's economic prosperity. Digitally deliverable services make up over $700B of U.S. exports, larger than any single sector.^[1] As a result, policymakers, businesses, non-profits, communities, and other stakeholders rely on data about whether and how Americans use the internet to help shape their activities. Digitally connected Americans populate the modern workforce, drive creative innovation throughout the economy, and ensure a growing customer base to help sustain our nation's global competitiveness.

Collecting current, systematic, and comprehensive information on internet use and non-use by U.S. households is critical for helping policymakers gauge progress on topics such as broadband deployment and use, identify specific areas of concern, and target cost-effective responses. Congress has tasked NTIA and other federal agencies with administering multiple broadband grant programs that aim to bolster American prosperity and competitiveness by closing gaps in deployment, use, and digital skills. Efficient and fiscally responsible administration of these programs requires careful monitoring and evaluation of progress towards their statutory goals. NTIA requires accurate and detailed information about computer and internet use—including changes over time—in order to carry out these evaluation activities, and as the longest-running and most comprehensive household survey on this topic, the NTIA internet Use Survey serves as an indispensable data source to meet this need.

The U.S. Census Bureau is widely regarded as a premier data collector based on centuries of experience and rigorous scientific methods. Collection of NTIA's requested internet usage data will occur in conjunction with a future edition of the U.S. Census Bureau's CPS, thereby significantly reducing the potential burdens on the U.S. Census Bureau and on surveyed households.

The U.S. government has a need for comprehensive data in this area. The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), NTIA, and the FCC have issued reports noting the importance of useful broadband data for policymakers. Moreover, Congress has passed legislation—including the Broadband Data Improvement Act, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the Broadband DATA Act, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act—wholly or in part to facilitate data collection, research, program evaluation, and policy analysis in this area. And Congress has charged NTIA with the task of furthering scientific knowledge on telecommunications and information. (47 U.S.C. 901(c)(5)). Modifying the CPS to include NTIA's requested internet use questions will enable the Commerce Department and NTIA to respond to congressional concerns and directives.

As technology changes, so does the best way to measure internet and technology use. For this revision, NTIA is thoroughly re-examining the questions and language in its internet Use Survey to ensure the resulting data meets today's needs. At the same time, NTIA recognizes the value of preserving important long-term time data and aims to maintain time series as much as possible.

Internet measurement must balance several competing forces. The ways people access the internet have changed dramatically, as the market has evolved from dial-up and DSL to a widely varied marketplace of wired and wireless options. How people use the internet has shifted as well: connectivity is now embedded in many everyday devices, more people are turning to the internet to buy basic goods, and concerns about problematic use are rising. Artificial intelligence (AI), in particular, has had tremendous effects on how people gather information on the internet and on how that information is generated. Effective longitudinal measurement around AI and other internet-enabled technologies will be needed to predict the issues of tomorrow. Simultaneously, large surveys are costly, and respondents' time is valuable. Survey questions therefore need to focus on topics that have significant value for data users and/or impact on policy.

NTIA has made a copy of the proposed information collection instrument available at www.ntia.gov/​federal-register-notice/​2026/​2027-internet-use-survey-information-collection.

The bureau also welcomes comments on any of the following questions. Where possible, cite question numbers and propose specific, tested language:

1. Is data from the NTIA Internet Use Survey important in 2027? Should the survey continue to be conducted?

2. Which NTIA Internet Use Survey questions should remain unchanged in 2027 to preserve useful longitudinal time series?

3. How should the survey questions or language be updated for technology use in 2027?

4. Which questions should be kept because they are used by researchers, policymakers, and/or industry? Please explain how the questions are used.

5. Which questions use outdated language or will not provide useful data in 2027? Should these questions be removed? If not, how should they be changed?

6. Internet connectivity and applications have changed substantially since the survey instrument was substantively rewritten a decade ago. For example, the role of the internet in Americans' lives is often unnoticed, from smart appliances to single-player video games that require online connections. How (if at all) should questions on the NTIA Internet Use Survey be edited, removed, or added to address the evolution of these technologies and the words we use to describe them?

7. Commenters often suggest adding questions, but space for questions is limited. If your comment proposed additional questions, are there other questions that should be removed to make space? Or would some questions be better asked in a different venue?

8. Are some questions (or potential questions) particularly important for policymakers or industry? Please explain. For example, as a supplement to the CPS, the nation's primary source of labor statistics, the survey might provide key insights on internet use and the workforce.

9. What questions (or potential questions) are of particular importance for enabling high-quality evaluation of NTIA's broadband grant programs and other federal broadband programs? Are there particular gaps in existing program evaluation data that could be filled by adding certain questions to the NTIA Internet Use Survey?

10. In what ways can survey language be customized to support cross-country comparison?

11. Is there a need for more data around children's use of the internet and digital devices? Are there particular areas that need more data, such as screen use in schools or parental perceptions of children's tech use? Is the NTIA Internet Use Survey, a CPS ( printed page 57322) supplement, the most appropriate place for this, or should that data be gathered in other ways?

12. Is there a need for more data around artificial intelligence (AI)? Are there particular areas that need more data, such as AI use at work or home, or attitudes towards AI? Is the NTIA Internet Use Survey, a CPS supplement, the most appropriate place for this, or should that data be gathered in other ways?

II. Method of Collection

The NTIA internet Use Survey will be administered by the U.S. Census Bureau as a supplement to the CPS. Data will be collected through personal visits and live telephone interviews using computer-assisted telephone interviewing and computer-assisted personal interviewing.

III. Data

OMB Control Number: 0660-0021.

Form Number(s): None.

Affected Public: Individuals and households.

Estimated Number of Respondents: 50,000 households.

Estimated Time per Response: 10 minutes.

Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 8,334 hours.

Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $0.

Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.

Legal Authority:47 U.S.C. 902(b)(2)(M), (P).

IV. Request for Comments

We are soliciting public comments to permit the Department/Bureau to: (a) Evaluate whether the proposed information collection is necessary for the proper functions of the Department, including whether the information will have practical utility; (b) Evaluate the accuracy of our estimate of the time and cost burden for this proposed collection, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used; (c) Evaluate ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) Minimize the reporting burden on those who are to respond, including via the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

Comments that you submit in response to this notice are a matter of public record. We will include or summarize each comment in our request to OMB to approve this ICR. Before including your address, phone number, email address, or other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment, including any personal identifying information that you include—may be made publicly available at any time. While you may ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.

91 FR 57320