Trump cuts funding for internet freedom

The United States, under Donald Trump, has stopped funding for various projects against Internet censorship and Internet blocking in general, which for some is likely to mean the end of the Internet as we knew it.

This is reported by the Guardian , citing its own research. According to the publication, there was a program that has distributed well over 500 million US dollars to such projects over the past ten years, with 94 million dollars used in 2024 alone.

See more articles from iGuRu.gr when you search for news on Google.

iGuRu.gr preferred source

But in 2025, no money was released through this program. Which projects are affected? The Guardian does not say. For most, it is too risky to admit that they receive money from the US government. For example, the Guardian mentions the Signal messenger and the Tor browser.

According to the report, the program was run by the US State Department and the United States Agency for Global Media. However, the Agency for Global Media has been hit by DOGE’s drastic austerity measures.

The program had no specific name, and was generally concerned with “Internet Freedom.” The money went to small groups around the world working on technology to circumvent state controls on the Internet. The Guardian cites Myanmar, China, the Philippines and Iran as examples.

For those affected, the elimination of financial support against Internet censorship is a serious blow.

The Guardian quotes an anonymous expert:

"I would like to live in a world in which a single US program does not play such a supportive role."

What will happen now? Some projects will react with layoffs, while others will continue without pay in the hope that at some point in the future they will receive money.

For now, everyone is just waiting. Of course, there is always the hope that money will come from Europe to fill this gap.

newsbot

Although the press releases will range from very select to rare, I said I'd pass...because sometimes the editors hide.