US funding for global internet freedom 'effectively gutted'
6 days ago
- #Censorship
- #Internet Freedom
- #Digital Rights
- The US-funded 'Internet Freedom' program has been a key supporter of technologies that help evade government censorship globally, distributing over $500 million in the past decade.
- Under the Trump administration, the program faced severe cuts, with many initiatives halted and funding significantly reduced, impacting internet freedom efforts worldwide.
- Technologies funded by the program include encrypted messaging services like Signal, the Tor browser, and advanced circumvention tools that bypass strict censorship regimes.
- The program's cuts threaten the ability of activists and citizens in countries like Iran, China, and Myanmar to communicate freely and access uncensored information.
- Censorship technology is becoming more accessible and sophisticated, with Chinese companies exporting surveillance tools to authoritarian regimes, exacerbating control over domestic internet usage.
- There is hope that European funding might step in to support these critical technologies, as current US support dwindles and the need for uncensored access grows.