While we value tools such as Tor or Tails greatly because they offer some of the most comprehensive and secure solutions to address the threats that our human rights face in the digital sphere, they and other privacy enhancing and encryption technologies are only necessary because our current network structures fail in providing such important features by default.

In essence, our current network structures, and most directly the internet, suffer from a fatal design flaw: security and anonymity are not built in by design. This needs to change – and there are several research and project initiatives that promise exactly this. We support GNUnet and other research groups in their quest to address these fatal flaws in our internet protocols.

GNUnet, in their own words, “provides a strong foundation of free software for a global, distributed network that provides security and privacy.” GNUnet’s end-to-end encryption as well as its many secure basic applications are the building blocks of a new – a GNU – internet.

Such fundamental change takes its time, and we model our long-term support of GNUnet accordingly. Our mission to defend human rights in the digital sphere needs to look beyond merely addressing the symptoms brought forth by inadequate and insecure network structures. Our mission is based on a vision of the digital sphere that truly respects and promotes human rights and liberties. GNUnet is an integral part of this vision.