<
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/feb/19/us-builds-website-that-will-allow-europeans-to-view-blocked-content>
"The US has built a portal that will allow Europeans to view blocked content
including alleged hate speech and terrorism, according to
Reuters.
The portal, “freedom.gov”, will allow worldwide users to circumvent government
controls on their content. The site features a graphic of a ghostly horse
galloping above the Earth, and the motto: “Information is power. Reclaim your
human right to free expression. Get ready.”
Though reports suggest the portal was developed by the state department, the
domain appears to be administered by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure
Security Agency (CISA), which is a branch of the Department of Homeland
Security (DHS). The DHS also administers Immigration Customs and Enforcement
(ICE).
It comes after the Trump administration largely gutted a state department
programme called Internet Freedom, which funded grassroots groups worldwide
that built technologies to circumvent censorship. Over the past decade, this
programme gave more than $500m to digital rights experts – from Myanmar to Iran
to Cuba to Venezuela – who built tools used by local populations to access the
global internet.
Those tools allowed pictures and videos to filter out of Iran during the recent
internet shutdown; they are heavily used by journalists and activists
worldwide.
Freedom.gov appears to be an effort to redirect and politicise the Internet
Freedom programme, according to sources."
Via Susan ****
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
