Updated · George W. Bush Presidential Center · May 21
US Urged to Expand Internet Freedom Funding as China, Russia and Iran Tighten Digital Censorship
Updated
Updated · George W. Bush Presidential Center · May 21
US Urged to Expand Internet Freedom Funding as China, Russia and Iran Tighten Digital Censorship
3 articles · Updated · George W. Bush Presidential Center · May 21
Washington is being pressed to increase sustained support for VPNs, encrypted messaging and other circumvention tools as authoritarian governments intensify efforts to block citizens from the open internet.
Russia escalated that pressure in March and April by targeting commercial VPN use, pushing Apple to remove premium VPN apps in Russia and then blocking Apple Pay, while China also stepped up moves against VPN connections.
Iran and other restrictive states are also disrupting alternatives such as satellite internet, while Russia and China are squeezing access to Telegram and steering users toward state-built apps that monitor behavior.
The report says Congress should preserve or expand funding for the Open Technology Fund, which helped back Signal and specialized anti-censorship VPNs, and the State Department should restart internet-freedom grants paused in 2025.
It also urges the US to rejoin the Freedom Online Coalition as China and Russia increasingly export censorship systems abroad, including pressure that helped derail Zambia's hosting of RightsCon this month.
With China exporting its surveillance model, can US-funded freedom tools compete if domestic budgets for them face potential cuts?
As nations export digital 'Great Firewalls,' can circumvention tools win the escalating technological arms race against AI-powered censorship?
While data privacy laws spread globally, why is state-sponsored digital surveillance simultaneously reaching unprecedented levels?
The Global Retreat on Internet Freedom: How US Funding Cuts and the China-Russia-Iran Axis Are Accelerating Digital Repression
Overview
Authoritarian regimes are intensifying digital crackdowns, using increasingly sophisticated methods to control information and suppress dissent. These actions are driving a global decline in internet freedom, which threatens human rights and access to information. In Iran, the government enforces internet restrictions as a tool for societal control, sometimes using a 'kill switch' to disrupt protests, limit social unity, and cut off connections to the outside world. Even when connectivity returns, it is often degraded with more restrictions and uncertainty. This pattern highlights how digital repression is becoming a powerful means of stifling freedom worldwide.