US spent 25 mln on internet freedom in ME

The US State Department confirmed late Thursday it spent USD 25 million this year on internet freedom programming tools for activists in the Middle East and elsewhere. In the past four years, the United States has spent USD 76 million on training and tools for activists to allow them to remain online and "safely exercise their freedoms of expression, and assembly on the Internet and via other communication technologies," according to a statement released by the State department. In the Middle East, the US-sponsored programming tools focusing on aiding hundreds of thousands of pro-democracy protesters from shut down by their respective governments by allowing them "unfettered Internet access" and through mobile security software that allows for posting directly from the phone to online. Noting that countering increasingly active internet surveillance and censorship efforts aimed at suppressing individuals' exercise of their human rights requires a diverse portfolio of tools and training, the State Department said it grants support more advanced technologies, including in Farsi and Arabic. To date, the US has also trained over 7,500 activists world wide including many from the Middle East in cyber-self defense and plans to expand its efforts in the Middle East and throughout the world.