White House urges tech giants to boost VPN support
The meeting underscores the critical role major technology companies must play in facilitating free internet access in censored regions.
The White House met with major tech companies and civil society activists on Thursday to address the need for increased digital bandwidth for government-funded tools that help bypass internet censorship. Companies like Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and Cloudflare were encouraged to provide discounted or subsidised server bandwidth for virtual private networks (VPNs) supported by the US-backed Open Technology Fund (OTF).
The OTF has seen a dramatic increase in VPN usage due to rising internet censorship in countries like Russia, Iran, and Myanmar. The number of VPN users has surged from around nine million monthly to over 46 million, driven by heightened demand for privacy and access to uncensored information. Despite receiving additional funding from the US State Department, the OTF struggles to keep up with the increased demand due to high hosting costs.
The meeting aimed to address these challenges by persuading tech giants to help manage the growing need for VPN infrastructure. The OTF’s president, Laura Cunningham, highlighted the urgent need for support to sustain the surge in VPN usage and continue providing critical services to users in restrictive environments.
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