Illustration: Natalie Peeples/Axios
Pressure is growing for the U.S. to develop a plan to quickly build internet lifelines for people living in conflict zones or under repressive regimes.
Why it matters: The absence of a strategy has led to a reliance on the ad hoc goodwill of private companies, such as Elon Musk's donation of Starlink satellite internet service in Ukraine.
State of play: Republicans are sounding the alarm about the need to ensure internet connectivity as a U.S. foreign policy priority.
Catch up quick: SpaceX founder Elon Musk agreed to provide Starlink satellite internet terminals to Ukraine to help maintain online connections amid the Russian invasion.
Reality check: Standing up internet infrastructure in a hostile country is easier said than done for technological and diplomatic reasons.
The big picture: Beyond the internet infrastructure itself, crackdowns on online freedom around the world have shown the need for anti-censorship and surveillance tools.
Between the lines: The U.S. foreign policy work on internet freedom is largely focused on thwarting online censorship, not building the infrastructure.
What they're saying: "The administration has been able to continue to dedicate significant resources to support technology that allows users to access and use the internet, despite efforts by repressive governments to block, filter, throttle or monitor them," the NSC official told Axios.
The intrigue: There's been bipartisan interest among lawmakers in stepping up funding for U.S. efforts to develop new online tools to support democracy globally.
The bottom line: "You’re not going to stop government surveillance by getting billionaires to crowd fund an internet access program for Iranians, Russians, Ukrainians, Hongkongers, and others fighting the information war," Malinowski told Axios in a statement.
