US quietly launches freedom.gov to bypass European content laws, and critics are calling it propaganda

The United States has quietly launched a new website, freedom.gov, aimed at allowing Europeans to bypass local content restrictions and access material blocked under regional laws. The development was reported by The Guardian, and critics are already labeling the portal a government backed propaganda tool.

The site appears to be administered by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, a branch of the Department of Homeland Security. It promotes the message “Information is power. Reclaim your human right to free expression. Get ready,” and is designed to help users circumvent government content controls.

The launch follows a major rollback of the State Department’s long running Internet Freedom program. That initiative invested more than $500 million over a decade in grassroots groups and digital rights experts building open source, privacy focused tools to bypass censorship in countries such as Myanmar, Iran, Cuba, and Venezuela.

Critics say the focus shifts from censorship to regulation

Critics argue the new platform marks a departure from that approach. Instead of supporting decentralized, auditable tools, freedom.gov appears to route traffic through a centralized system controlled by a US agency.

Andrew Ford Lyons, an independent consultant who previously worked on US internet freedom projects, said earlier tools were open source and privacy preserving. He said they were built by technologists worldwide and tailored to specific censorship regimes rather than managed directly by Washington.

By contrast, he described freedom.gov as concentrating traffic through a US federal agency rather than independent projects. The debate comes amid Copilot email access concerns that have intensified scrutiny around data control and transparency.

The portal is not aimed at broad internet shutdowns like those seen in China or Iran. Instead, it targets European content restrictions, including rules under the Digital Services Act and the United Kingdom’s Online Safety Act.

Nina Jankowicz, a former US disinformation official, warned that bypassing such restrictions could expose users to hate speech, pornography, and illegal material. She also questioned why CISA, which previously focused on protecting election infrastructure and countering foreign disinformation, would oversee the platform.

The rollout comes amid wider tensions between the Trump administration and the European Union over technology regulation. The European Commission has launched investigations into major US tech platforms, and a Ukraine sanctions showdown has further complicated transatlantic political dynamics.

Last year, Vice President JD Vance criticized European media regulation and content moderation policies at the Munich Security Conference. A State Department spokesperson told Reuters the US does not operate a Europe specific censorship circumvention program, but said digital freedom and tools such as VPNs remain a priority.