2/24/26, 11:34 AM US funding for global internet freedom ‘effectively gutted’ | Censorship | The Guardian Censorship US funding for global internet freedom ‘effectively gutted’ Programme that funds groups building tech to evade oppressive government controls under serious threat The cuts risk curtailing technologies that helped Iranians to coordinate during recent anti-government protests. Photograph: AP Aisha Down Thu 19 Feb 2026 06.00 CET Prefer the Guardian on Google For nearly two decades, the US quietly funded a global effort to keep the internet from splintering into fiefdoms run by authoritarian governments. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/feb/19/us-funding-for-global-internet-freedom-effectively-gutted 1/5