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opentechfund.bsky.social
Open Technology Fund
@opentechfund.bsky.social
420 followers 100 following 69 posts
We advance internet freedom by supporting research, development, & implementation projects that fight censorship, increase privacy, and improve security online. opentech.fund
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opentechfund.bsky.social
Open Technology Fund @opentechfund.bsky.social · 16d
"Users have a false sense of security because a nation-state threat actor can see everything the users of these products are doing," @opentechfund.sky.social-supported Benjamin Mixon-Baca to @news.dw.com on privacy & security issues he found in widely-used commercial VPNs.

buff.ly/niulhHM
Anything but safe: Using VPN can bear immense risks – DW – 09/20/2025
A new study reveals that popular VPN connections provide less safety than widely believed. The findings are alarming, especially for users in authoritarian states.
www.dw.com
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opentechfund.bsky.social
Open Technology Fund @opentechfund.bsky.social · 21d
“This is very frightening,” @interseclab.bsky.social's Marla Rivera explained the technical details of new @opentechfund.bsky.social - supported research into Geedge Networks’ censorship and surveillance technologies to @wired.com.
wired.com
WIRED @wired.com · Sep 9
Geedge Networks, a company with ties to the founder of China’s mass censorship infrastructure, is selling its censorship and surveillance systems to at least four other countries in Asia and Africa. www.wired.com/story/geedge...
Massive Leak Shows How a Chinese Company Is Exporting the Great Firewall to the World
Geedge Networks, a company with ties to the founder of China’s mass censorship infrastructure, is selling its censorship and surveillance systems to at least four other countries in Asia and Africa.
www.wired.com
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opentechfund.bsky.social
Open Technology Fund @opentechfund.bsky.social · 22d
ICYM: @opentechfund.bsky.social-supported research from Ben Mixon-Baca sheds light on the egregious transparency and security vulnerabilities of 16 commercial VPN apps linked to the CCP that put more than 700 million users at risk of authoritarian surveillance.
www.opentech.fund/news/who-own...
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opentechfund.bsky.social
Open Technology Fund @opentechfund.bsky.social · 22d
New @opentechfund.bsky.social-supported research from @interseclab.bsky.social and partners uncovers how Chinese company Geedge Networks is exporting a comprehensive, turnkey surveillance and censorship system worldwide.

Learn more:
buff.ly/R7FJAyD
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opentechfund.bsky.social
Open Technology Fund @opentechfund.bsky.social · 29d
(2/2)

interseclab.org/wp-content/u...
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opentechfund.bsky.social
Open Technology Fund @opentechfund.bsky.social · 29d
New research from @opentechfund.bsky.social-supported @interseclab.bsky.social & partners uncovers how a Chinese company exports tools for mass & precision surveillance & censorship—transforming how quickly & easily states can control digital communications (1/2).

interseclab.org/wp-content/u...
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Reposted by Open Technology Fund
jamestgriffiths.com
James Griffiths @jamestgriffiths.com · Sep 9
As part of a consortium of researchers and journalists, I spent the better part of a year digging into leaked documents from Chinese security company Geedge, which plays a pivotal role exporting the Great Firewall around the world: www.theglobeandmail.com/gift/15c699a...
Leaked files show a Chinese company is exporting the Great Firewall’s censorship technology
Geedge Networks is providing censorship capabilities to foreign governments, including those in Myanmar, Pakistan, Ethiopia and Kazakhstan
www.theglobeandmail.com
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Reposted by Open Technology Fund
interseclab.bsky.social
InterSecLab @interseclab.bsky.social · Sep 9
We gave a interview about our new research The Internet Coup to @wired.com. Check their article on www.wired.com/story/geedge...
Massive Leak Shows How a Chinese Company Is Exporting the Great Firewall to the World
Geedge Networks, a company with ties to the founder of China’s mass censorship infrastructure, is selling its censorship and surveillance systems to at least four other countries in Asia and Africa.
www.wired.com
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Reposted by Open Technology Fund
papertrailmedia.de
paper trail media @papertrailmedia.de · Sep 9
New Research: Our investigation indicates that the Chinese company Geedge Networks is exporting mass surveillance and censorship technology to Myanmar, Pakistan, Kazakhstan and Ethiopia. #GreatFirewallExport (1/5)
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opentechfund.bsky.social
Open Technology Fund @opentechfund.bsky.social · Sep 8
@opentechfund.bsky.social’s Security Lab partner Radically Open Security’s recent audit of Tails found that the operating system is well designed from a security perspective.

Learn more and access the full report:
buff.ly/0Vnda8P
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opentechfund.bsky.social
Open Technology Fund @opentechfund.bsky.social · Sep 2
New research from @opentechfund.bsky.social’s ICFP Fellow Benjamin Mixon-Baca includes analysis of 16 commercial VPN apps that are popular in authoritarian contexts.

Learn about their suspicious operations, security vulnerabilities, and more:
www.opentech.fund/news/who-own...
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opentechfund.bsky.social
Open Technology Fund @opentechfund.bsky.social · Aug 11
@opentechfund.bsky.social’s Security Lab partner Radically Open Security’s recent audit of @ooni.org found that their services and architecture are securely designed.

Learn more and access the full report:
www.opentech.fund/security-saf...
A blue square with Open Technology Fund's logo, OONI's logo, and a description of OONI and the security audit performed: "OONI creates software for resisting repressive online information control through censorship measurement research and analysis. OTF's Security Lab recently audited OONI's new services and infrastructure to ensure it's as safe as possible for users. Audit results: OONI is designed well from a security perspective."
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opentechfund.bsky.social
Open Technology Fund @opentechfund.bsky.social · Jul 15
@chinafile.bsky.social’s Jessica Batke and @whiskeyocelot.bsky.social, authors of a new report that reshapes our understanding of Chinese censorship, spoke to the @washingtonpost.com about how the “Locknet” works.
www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...
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Reposted by Open Technology Fund
whiskeyocelot.bsky.social
Laura Edelson @whiskeyocelot.bsky.social · Jul 15
I talked to @washingtonpost.com for this piece on China's digital ID system. It's a great example of two key features of the Locknet: 1) different aspects of the censorship system reinforce each other, and 2) pushing the policeman into citizens heads.
wapo.st/4kBkkEc
Big Brother gets new powers in China with digital ID system
China is launching a digital ID system, giving Beijing greater control over online activity and further raising concerns about surveillance and censorship.
wapo.st
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Reposted by Open Technology Fund
emilyzfeng.bsky.social
Emily Feng @emilyzfeng.bsky.social · Jul 3
"In practice, online censorship in China functions more like a massive water management system: an amalgamation of canals and locks that regulates what flows, through which particular channels, and at what times." locknet.chinafile.com/the-locknet/...
The Locknet: How China Controls Its Internet and Why It Matters
June 30, 2025 The man gazes earnestly into the camera, the glow from his computer monitor reflecting off his black-rimmed glasses. “This is more than just a cultural moment,” he says with a smile. “It...
locknet.chinafile.com
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Reposted by Open Technology Fund
mareikeohlberg.bsky.social
Mareike Ohlberg @mareikeohlberg.bsky.social · Jul 1
I highly recommend this piece on internet censorship in China by Jessica Batke and ‪@whiskeyocelot.bsky.social‬ locknet.chinafile.com/the-locknet/... Whether you're an expert on the topic or completely new to it, I can guarantee you will come away with a better understanding.
The Locknet: How China Controls Its Internet and Why It Matters
The man gazes earnestly into the camera, the glow from his computer monitor reflecting off his black-rimmed glasses. “This is more than just a cultural moment,” he says with a smile. “It’s something t...
locknet.chinafile.com
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Reposted by Open Technology Fund
joshchin.bsky.social
Josh Chin @joshchin.bsky.social · Jul 1
Amazing work here. One of the smartest and most comprehensive reports ever done on Chinese censorship -- a topic that's going to become so much more relevant as DeepSeek and other Chinese LLMs continue to grab territory
chinafile.bsky.social
ChinaFile @chinafile.bsky.social · Jun 30
NEW: A ChinaFile investigation into China's powerful, but leaky, internet censorship system at locknet.chinafile.com
1/21
A collage depicting blimps, planes, drones, and ships trawling the sea and sky for digital devices and information.
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opentechfund.bsky.social
Open Technology Fund @opentechfund.bsky.social · Jun 30
New @opentechfund.bsky.social-supported research reshapes our understanding of Chinese censorship. It's not simply a "firewall," it's a "locknet"—a dynamic, multi-layered system of total information control.
chinafile.bsky.social
ChinaFile @chinafile.bsky.social · Jun 30
NEW: A ChinaFile investigation into China's powerful, but leaky, internet censorship system at locknet.chinafile.com
1/21
A collage depicting blimps, planes, drones, and ships trawling the sea and sky for digital devices and information.
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opentechfund.bsky.social
Open Technology Fund @opentechfund.bsky.social · Jun 30
This research reshapes our understanding of China’s censorship model. We must engage with its reality & understand the CCP’s ambitions within it—as it exists on the mainland and as it projects out into the rest of the world. (4/4)
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opentechfund.bsky.social
Open Technology Fund @opentechfund.bsky.social · Jun 30
One of the key findings is that China’s censorship model is ambitious in scope, shaping the digital architecture of the global internet in ways that affect users outside of China too. (3/4)
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opentechfund.bsky.social
Open Technology Fund @opentechfund.bsky.social · Jun 30
Instead of a technical splinternet, China’s censorship model maintains connection to the global internet – upending an assumed tradeoff between the economic benefits of connection and authoritarian desire for information control. (2/4)
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opentechfund.bsky.social
Open Technology Fund @opentechfund.bsky.social · Jun 30
Supported by @opentechfund.bsky.social: @chinafile.bsky.social’s Jessica Batke & @whiskeyocelot.bsky.social explain that Chinese censorship isn’t simply a “firewall, but a “locknet” – a multi-level system of socio-technical controls. (1/4)
locknet.chinafile.com/the-locknet/...
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opentechfund.bsky.social
Open Technology Fund @opentechfund.bsky.social · Jun 26
@opentechfund.bsky.social’s UXD Lab has provided more than 190 usability-support engagements for internet freedom tools.

Learn more about the Lab and other key results from our internet freedom work:
Impacts and Outcomes
We have supported pioneering open source internet freedom technologies that counter authoritarian information controls and enhance digital security and privacy so that all people can exercise their fundamental...
buff.ly
opentechfund.bsky.social
Open Technology Fund @opentechfund.bsky.social · Jun 25
Learn how @opentechfund.bsky.social works hard to provide millions of people around the world with access to innovative technologies that enable people to securely and reliably exercise free expression online. (4/4)
www.opentech.fund
OTF
www.opentech.fund
opentechfund.bsky.social
Open Technology Fund @opentechfund.bsky.social · Jun 25
Their recommendations align with @opentechfund.bsky.social’s mission: Funding the development of cutting-edge, open source anti-censorship and end-to-end encrypted tools + prioritizing support for privacy-preserving tech that incorporates best-in-class security standards. (3/4)
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