New Federal Budget Nearly Doubles OTF Funding

​The State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Subcommittee (SFOP) released its Joint Explanatory Statement (JES) for this upcoming fiscal year. In it, the SFOP reports that the budget for the Open Technology Fund (OTF) has been raised to $40 million. This is a $13 million increase from this past fiscal year’s budget of $27 million, and double the 2021 budget of $20 million. This is excellent news for the development of a free and open internet.
 
The OTF funds emerging internet technologies that promote freedom around the world, from development through deployment. The OTF "support[s] open technologies and communities that increase free expression, circumvent censorship, and obstruct repressive surveillance as a way to promote human rights and open societies." This budget increase is the largest since the OTF was founded in 2012.
 
PPSA is pleased by the rapid increase in the OTF’s budget. Such an expansion marks an increasing commitment by the United States to support digital freedom, privacy, and security around the globe. PPSA believes the OTF should continue to expand its operations, most notably by making its services and technology available to U.S. citizens. Americans deserve the same privacy tools and resources as the rest of the world, and the OTF is in a prime position to promote U.S. developers as global leaders in internet freedom and privacy.