· 2 min read
illuminem summarises for you the essential news of the day. Read the full piece on The Washington Post or enjoy below:
🗞️ Driving the news: The Trump administration has shut down the Open Technology Fund (OTF), a U.S.-funded program that helped millions bypass internet censorship in authoritarian countries
• The OTF provided encrypted tools like VPNs, Signal, and Tor to over 6 million people in China and 18 million in Iran
• Lawmakers from both parties have raised concerns that ending the program will weaken U.S. influence and endanger activists, journalists, and dissidents
🔭 The context: The OTF was launched in 2012 and became the world's largest funder of internet freedom technologies, helping people evade censorship in China, Russia, Iran, Myanmar, and Cuba
• Previous attempts to defund the program failed due to bipartisan support in Congress
• Trump’s latest executive order removes independent agency funding, effectively cutting the OTF’s $43.5 million annual budget
🌍 Why it matters for the planet: Millions of people rely on OTF-funded tools to access uncensored information and communicate securely
• The shutdown could lead to increased state surveillance, censorship, and human rights violations in authoritarian regimes
• Internet freedom is a crucial tool for press freedom, democracy, and climate activists in repressive states
⏭️ What's next: Congress members are exploring ways to restore funding, but success remains uncertain
• If no alternative funding is secured, OTF-backed services may go offline by the end of the month, cutting off internet access for millions
• Experts warn that once Chinese users lose access to these tools, it will be nearly impossible to reconnect them
💬 One quote: “There are real humans we are abandoning in China and beyond… Without our technologies, we are leaving them vulnerable to surveillance, persecution or worse.” – Laura Cunningham, President of the Open Technology Fund
📈 One stat: The OTF provided internet access tools to over 24 million people globally, including 6 million in China and 18 million in Iran
See here detailed sustainability performance of companies like Huawei, Deepseek, Google and Meta
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