TZUTC: -0500   
   MSGID: 1944.consprcy@1:2320/105 2dc7a13d   
   PID: Synchronet 3.21a-Linux master/123f2d28a Jul 12 2025 GCC 12.2.0   
   TID: SBBSecho 3.28-Linux master/123f2d28a Jul 12 2025 GCC 12.2.0   
   BBSID: CAPCITY2   
   CHRS: ASCII 1   
   FORMAT: flowed   
   "Americans should be concerned"   digital rights experts respond to the US   
   withdrawal from internet freedom organization   
      
   Date:   
   Fri, 09 Jan 2026 16:50:54 +0000   
      
   Description:   
   Digital rights experts criticize the Trump administration's decision to   
   withdraw from key international internet freedom organizations.   
      
   FULL STORY   
      
   Digital rights experts have criticized the Trump administration's decision to   
   withdraw from the Freedom Online Coalition (FOC) and its broader retreat from   
   multilateral cooperation.    
      
   In a press statement, The Center for Democracy and Technology's (CDT)   
   President and CEO, Alexandra Givens, said: These withdrawals are an    
   abdication of important US commitments and responsibilities to uphold human   
   rights and democratic principles, broadly and in the digital world."    
      
   It's a view shared by Konstantinos Komaitis, senior resident fellow at the   
   Atlantic Council's Digital Forensic Research Lab and member of the FOC's   
   advisory network.    
      
   "The message is unmistakable: Internet freedom is no longer a pillar of US   
   foreign policy," Komaitis wrote in Tech Policy Press .   
      
   Targeting 'progressive' tech bodies   
      
   On Wednesday, the United States withdrew from 66 international organizations   
   the Trump administration deems "contrary to the interests" of the country.   
   Affected groups include UN climate treaties, organizations working on   
   international conflict resolution and gender equality initiatives.    
      
   In its statement, the CDT highlighted the wide scope of the withdrawal,    
   noting the inclusion of the FOC alongside the Venice Commission, the Global   
   Counterterrorism Forum, and the International Institute for Democracy and   
   Electoral Assistance.    
      
   In a press statement , Secretary of State Marco Rubio claimed these   
   organizations have become "dominated by progressive ideology and detached    
   from national interests."   
      
   Real-world repercussions    
      
   The Freedom Online Coalition is a group of more than 40 governments that work   
   together to promote a world "where the use of the Internet and digital   
   technologies reinforces human rights, democracy, and the rule of law."    
      
   Its strength lies in its collective voice, according to Komaitis. When    
   "member states spoke collectively about internet shutdowns, surveillance   
   practices, or digital repression, those interventions were amplified by the   
   presence of actors able to project influence across multiple policy domains,"   
   he wrote.    
      
   In 2012, the FOC launched the Digital Defenders Partnership (DDP)  a fund   
   managed by Hivos to support digital activists under threat. The fund has been   
   instrumental in financing digital rights initiatives, including providing    
   VPNs " to protect human rights defenders from censorship and surveillance ."    
      
   The US withdrawal is "unlikely to have an immediate or direct impact" on the   
   group, Komaitis told TechRadar. However, he noted that the decision could   
   affect the wider international landscape in which DDP and similar   
   organizations operate.    
      
   Asked whether there was recourse for the FOC to push back against the   
   decision, Komaitis said: "Any response would likely focus on maintaining   
   cooperation among remaining partners and ensuring continuity of support   
   through existing multilateral channels."   
      
   A gift to authoritarians?    
      
   While US involvement in these organizations was important, experts say they   
   will continue to operate. "It would be wrong to suggest that the FOC will   
   falter, let alone collapse, in the absence of the US," Komaitis argues.    
      
   However, the long-term implications of this move could be significant. By   
   stepping away from the global stage, the US risks inviting others to take its   
   place.    
      
   By withdrawing, the US "creates space for China to reappropriate the language   
   of governance and rights," Komaitis warns. With this shift, basic concepts of   
   internet freedom could be transformed "in ways that subordinate individual   
   freedoms to regime stability".    
      
   The feeling, then, is that this retreat puts the digital safety of everyday   
   users at risk.    
      
   Alexandra Givens at the CDT argues in her statement that the administration    
   is "abandoning longstanding efforts to advance democracy, defend human rights   
   online, and stop the abuses of spyware, particularly as free expression comes   
   under attack from governments around the worldincluding our own."    
      
   "US participation in international collaboration on human rights standards   
   helps keep Americans safe," Givens concludes. "This move will inevitably   
   weaken the rights and security of Americans and people around the world for   
   years to come."   
      
   ======================================================================   
   Link to news story:   
   https://www.techradar.com/vpn/vpn-privacy-security/americans-should-be-concern   
   ed-digital-rights-experts-respond-to-the-us-withdrawal-from-internet-freedom-o   
   rganization   
      
   $$   
   --- SBBSecho 3.28-Linux   
    * Origin: Capitol City Online (1:2320/105)   
   SEEN-BY: 105/81 106/201 128/187 129/14 305 153/7715 154/110 218/700   
   SEEN-BY: 226/30 227/114 229/110 134 206 275 300 307 317 400 426 428   
   SEEN-BY: 229/470 664 700 705 266/512 291/111 320/219 322/757 342/200   
   SEEN-BY: 396/45 460/58 633/280 712/848 902/26 2320/0 105 107 304 3634/12   
   SEEN-BY: 5075/35   
   PATH: 2320/105 229/426