Save Internet Freedom

UPDATE: #SaveOTF Campaign Success!

In the face of an unprecedented attack on the Open Technology Fund (OTF), the internet freedom community united to achieve a seemingly impossible victory.

THANK YOU to all those who participated. None of this would have been possible without your tireless support and remarkable work to #SaveOTF. Your resolve was nothing short of extraordinary. In the midst of an evolving and never-before-seen global health crisis, countless individuals and organizations leapt into action to do whatever they could to help ensure the OTF they knew and loved survived.

Campaign overview

OTF – the most effective tool the U.S. Congress has in the fight to safeguard the internet as a secure democratic space – serves as a critical funder in the global fight for internet freedom. Today, more than two billion people around the world rely on technologies supported by the non-profit’s work to communicate securely, circumvent censorship, and combat authoritarianism. Yet when controversial political appointee Michael Pack took over OTF’s primary funding agency in June 2020, he inexplicably attacked the bipartisan organization – attempting to fire its Board of Directors and key officers, and cripple its essential projects by denying them their Congressionally allocated internet freedom funds. These brazen, unilateral moves jeopardized the lives of millions of people around the world.

But thanks to the unwavering support of the internet freedom community, OTF fought back and refused to be dismantled or co-opted for partisan purposes. In the months that followed, over 500 organizations and thousands of individuals united under the #SaveInternetFreedom banner and signed a letter demanding Congress intervene to protect OTF. In Washington, key politicians on both sides of the aisle spoke out in defense of the organization. And as the movement gained momentum, a multi-pronged legal battle ensued to save OTF, restore its Board and key officers, and unlock the unjustly withheld Congressional funds.

This hard work paid off. On January 20, 2021, Pack submitted his resignation in the wake of mounting legal losses and scathing publicity, and OTF's independence, operations, and funding were quickly restored by USAGM's new leadership.

With its bipartisan Board and expert leadership restored, OTF today continues on in its vital role as a key funding partner in the global fight for internet freedom. Most importantly, all of the organization’s critical Funds and Labs are once again open and accepting applications. OTF’s Funds are the primary way the organization supports specific project ideas, and include the Internet Freedom Fund, the Rapid Response Fund, and the Technology at Scale Fund. By contrast, Labs are services offered to bolster the robustness of internet freedom via narrow, cost-effective interventions. These services are provided to both OTF-funded projects as well as other significant internet freedom efforts. Current Labs include the Localization Lab, the Red Team Lab, the Usability Lab, the Learning Lab, the Engineering Lab, and the Legal Lab. Interested applicants are encouraged to apply now!