- Millions of Iranians could lose access to US-backed VPN services
- The Open Technology Fund (OTF) said VPN demand has increased from 7.5 million to 25 million
- The OTF needs $10 million in funding, and US agencies are slow to approve it
Millions of Iranians could lose access to vital VPN services “as soon as next week” as US agencies struggle to secure funding for an internet freedom group tasked with supporting the country’s surge in demand.
The warning comes from the Open Technology Fund (OTF). Its president, Laura Cunningham, told Bloomberg that the team “will be forced to make difficult decisions” if US officials cannot provide the $10 million needed to cope with a massive surge in users. Demand for censorship bypass technology in the region has recently skyrocketed from 7.5 million to 25 million users.
The Iranian government imposed a near-total communications blackout on January 8 in response to mass anti-government protests, cutting off landline Internet lines, mobile data and international voice calls.
While connectivity has been slowly restored since late January, the latest data shows that internet traffic remains severely restricted. VPN services and other circumvention tools currently represent the only way for Iranians to bypass state censorship and access the global Internet.
OTF and VPN financing: what we know
OTF is a US-based nonprofit organization that provides vital resources for anti-censorship technologies. Their work supports a variety of privacy-focused tools, including VPNs, the Tor browser, and Psiphon, while funding researchers who promote digital rights and internet freedom globally.
The group is primarily funded by the US government through the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM). According to their website, these resources are dedicated to supporting programs that “promote Internet freedom globally,” and often serve as a financial lifeline for open source tools that would otherwise struggle to scale in times of crisis.
Know?
Iran has reportedly begun implementing a permanent “whitelist” system to tighten its control over the Internet. Experts warn that such a system, which only allows pre-approved traffic, could make using standard VPN services significantly more difficult, if not impossible.
Cunningham explains that the typical funding mechanism involves the State Department providing money to USAGM, which then allocates it to the OTF. This process usually takes no more than a couple of weeks.
However, internal disputes have caused a major bottleneck. According to letters seen by Bloomberg, USAGM, the US State Department and several US senators currently cannot agree on a viable path to authorizing the necessary $10 million.
In a letter dated Feb. 5, USAGM Deputy CEO Kari Lake suggested that official approval of the funding “would take months.” Lake recommended that OTF use its existing budget to cover increased demand from Iran.
This proposal was rejected by Republican Senators Lindsey Graham and James Lankford, who argued that redirecting existing funds would compromise vital programs in China, Cuba and Russia.
OTF Board Chairman Zack Cooper also criticized the delay, telling Bloomberg that if USAGM wanted the OTF to have these additional resources, the funding would have already been authorized.
These financial hurdles follow a series of budget cuts and staff reductions at USAGM initiated by the Trump administration throughout 2025 and early 2026.
We have approached OTF for further comment.
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