President Trump ends program millions in China use for internet, worrying Congress

The Trump administration’s move to shut down the Open Technology Fund (OTF), an internet freedom project that helped millions of people in China access the open web, has stirred concern from lawmakers, including Republicans, who argue the nonprofit is a crucial tool to counter the rise of Beijing. OTF, launched in 2012, was intended to allow people who live under repressive regimes to circumvent restrictions and access the internet. An early backer of the encrypted messaging app Signal and the anonymous internet browser Tor, the OTF became the world’s largest funder of products that allow people to freely access the web. As of February, OTF funding provided tools to more than 6 million people in China and 18 million individuals in Iran, giving them the ability to circumvent government restrictions on the internet to access news sites, secure messaging services and social media platforms such as Reddit, the messaging app Telegram and X. But President Donald Trump’s executive order March 14 stripping independent agencies, including the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) — where nearly all of the OTF’s $43.5 million annual funding comes from — to the “maximum extent” possible essentially terminated the group’s budget. The OTF has long received support from several Republican lawmakers who have argued the group is crucial to Washington’s national security interests. The OTF’s grant termination has prompted members of Congress from both parties to contact the Trump administration to support the program