US launches website to let Europeans view blocked online content

Reuters reports the US has launched a portal called freedom.gov that it says will let users access content blocked under some European rules; the domain appears to be administered by CISA while the State Department described digital freedom as a priority.

The US has launched a portal called freedom.gov that Reuters reports is intended to let users access content blocked by government controls in other countries. The site displays a horse graphic above the Earth and a motto about reclaiming free expression. Reports link the portal's development to the State Department while the domain appears to be administered by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). The launch follows significant reductions to a prior State Department Internet Freedom programme that funded open-source tools used to circumvent censorship. Reported details: - The portal is named freedom.gov and is described as allowing users to bypass government controls on content, according to Reuters. - The site features a graphic of a horse and the motto: "Information is power. Reclaim your human right to free expression. Get ready." - Media reports say the domain appears administered by CISA; a State Department spokesperson said the US has no Europe-specific censorship-circumvention programme and called digital freedom a priority. - The earlier Internet Freedom programme reportedly provided more than $500 million over a decade to support open-source, privacy-focused tools, and was largely scaled back under the Trump administration. - Observers quoted in reports expressed concern that the portal could politicize internet freedom and concentrate traffic through a central US government-controlled system, and noted it is aimed at content blocked under rules such as the EU Digital Services Act and the UK's Online Safety Act. Summary: The portal's launch has been reported amid growing tensions between US officials and European regulators over online content rules. Observers said it could shift internet-freedom efforts toward a centralised, government-controlled approach and raise privacy and policy concerns. Undetermined at this time.