The United States agencies are facing hurdles over how to quickly release $10 million to expand virtual private network (VPN) access for millions of people in Iran, where demand for anti-censorship tools has surged amid weeks of unrest.
Officials at the State Department, US senators from both parties and other US agencies agree on the need to support software that helps Iranians bypass strict state internet controls. The funding would go to the Open Technology Fund (OTF), a non-profit that backs programmes designed to counter online censorship worldwide, Bloomberg reported.
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‘Need funds yesterday’
According to OTF, requests for VPN services inside Iran have jumped to around 25 million users, far above the 7.5 million it currently has the capacity to support. Without urgent financial backing, the organisation says it may be forced to cut off access for millions.
“We need these funds yesterday,” said Laura Cunningham, president of the Open Technology Fund. “If we don’t have these resources immediately, we will be forced to make difficult decisions about cutting off millions of VPN users in Iran as soon as next week.”
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Since 2022, OTF has received funding through a channel in which the State Department transfers money to the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which then allocates it to OTF. Cunningham said the process typically takes one or two weeks.
However, USAGM Deputy CEO Kari Lake has argued that the usual route “would take months” and suggested that OTF temporarily use money from its own annual budget, according to a February 5 letter to Republican Senator Lindsey Graham seen by Bloomberg.
That proposal was rejected in a February 10 response from Graham and fellow Republican Senator James Lankford. The senators wrote that advancing $10 million from OTF’s yearly allocation “is not surge funding” and would reduce support for VPN users in countries such as China, Cuba and Russia.
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“We are working hand-in-glove with the State Department to deliver on President Trump’s priorities,” USAGM’s Lake said in a statement.
“Support is on the way to ensure a steady flow of information — as fast as possible — through VPNs and a variety of other mechanisms,” Lake added. “We will continue working tirelessly to deliver in this historic moment despite the Iranian regime’s suppression.”
The State Department also stressed the importance of maintaining internet access for Iranians, saying it is expanding capabilities and coordinating with international partners to share costs.
Zack Cooper, OTF’s board chair, disputed Lake’s assessment. “The State Department immediately found $10 million for OTF to support VPN users in Iran,” he said in a statement. “If USAGM wanted OTF to have these additional resources to support VPN users in Iran, we would.”
President Donald Trump has publicly backed protesters challenging Tehran’s leadership and recently said regime change would be “the best thing that could happen” to Iran.
In late January, Democratic Senators Jacky Rosen and Cory Booker joined Graham and Lankford in urging Secretary of State Marco Rubio to secure continued funding. “Without the continuous operation of internet freedom programming carried out by the State Department and Open Technology Fund, millions of Iranians will lose their last secure window and voice to the outside world,” their January 28 letter said.
Because of US sanctions, Iranian civilians cannot directly pay for these services, leaving organisations such as OTF to provide the technology free of charge. Cunningham warned that without secure, uncensored access, users risk government persecution. VPNs also conceal IP addresses, which can make it safer for people to use Starlink terminals deployed by Elon Musk when authorities shut down internet access.
(With inputs from Bloomberg)