Fwd: [Internet Policy] 2025 Internet Society Annual report (summary)

[Alejandro Pisanty]

HI,

I am sharing this email from friend Christian de Larrinaga in the Internet Policy list, to show how even an advanced economy and inveterate open-Internet champion country may be generating risks to the Internet's core values. Let's incorporate this into our work ASAP.

Alejandro Pisanty

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Christian de Larrinaga via InternetPolicy <interne...@elists.isoc.org>
Date: Wed, Apr 1, 2026 at 3:23 AM
Subject: Re: [Internet Policy] 2025 Internet Society Annual report (summary)
To: Joly MacFie <joly...@gmail.com>
Cc: interne...@elists.isoc.org <Interne...@elists.isoc.org>

This positivity is welcome. But ...

Here in Britain. Online Safety is directly associated with an
intentional destruction of the Open Internet. I hope the Foundation is
being careful to not be supporting outfits claiming to be protecting
children by imposing controls outside owners / users controls such as
operating system age verification, centralised digital ID, intrusive
surveillance, weakening or even removal of end to end encryption and
ongoing pushes by the permanent government to impose a permission
required Internet.

Apple's recent imposition of Age Verification on IOS updates at the OS
level and laws in California, Brazil and upcoming in Oregon seriously
undermine the user edge from being able to have the choice needed to be
able to control their devices and connectivity.

Apple's measure is not required by the Online Safety Act or follow
up regulations. It's an entirely concocted imposition by Apple on its
British users. It does not make people safer or more empowered. It
certainly doesn't allow them to think let alone think differently!


C


Joly MacFie via InternetPolicy <interne...@elists.isoc.org> writes:

> https://open.substack.com/pub/isoclive/p/2025-internet-society-annual-report
>
>       
>       *       
>       
>    https://www.isocfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/2025-Annual-Report_EN.pdf⚠️   
>       
>    The Internet Society has released its 2025 Annual Report, covering the first year of its ambitious 2030   
>    Strategy. The report documents significant progress on connectivity, online safety, Internet governance, and   
>    policy advocacy — all powered by a vast global community and its supporting philanthropic arm, the Internet   
>    Society Foundation.   
>       
>    Global Reach in 2025   
>       
>    * 150 countries and territories reached   
>       
>    * 122 events hosted or co-hosted   
>       
>    * 53,800 people trained   
>       
>    * 55+ advocacy campaigns   
>       
>    * 124 chapters, 156,880 individual members, 79 organization members, 491 alumni   
>       
>    Connectivity — Bridging the Digital Divide   
>       
>    With a quarter of the world still offline, ISOC continued to champion community-centered connectivity as the   
>    most viable path to reaching hard-to-reach populations. The Foundation granted $7,120,889 to connectivity   
>    initiatives in 87+ countries. Notable stories include the Gabaspot community network in Papua New Guinea,   
>    which grew from 50 households to 5,000 users since 2020, and a Foundation-funded project in rural Malawi   
>    where a voucher-based model cut data costs by over 90%, connecting 70+ schools across 63 communities   
>    and reaching over 70,000 people. ISOC also hosted 32 peering events and supported 20 Internet exchange   
>    points to lower costs and improve performance.   
>       
>    Training was a major focus: 47,705 people received connectivity skills training, supported by 93 technical   
>    trainers and 125 tutors developed through a Train-the-Trainer model.   
>       
>    Online Safety — The Foundation’s Expanding Role   
>       
>    The Internet Society Foundation distributed $7,280,068 across 179 grants for safety and digital inclusion   
>    programs — one of the report’s clearest illustrations of the Foundation’s direct programmatic impact. Grantee   
>    partners developed localized safety training for newly connected communities, including women   
>    entrepreneurs in Colombia’s Cauca region who gained both digital skills and online security practices through   
>    a Foundation-supported program. The Mexico Chapter delivered tailored safety courses to older adults   
>    targeted by online scams.   
>       
>    ISOC led a global co-creation process — involving 35 participants from 20 countries across 15 chapters and   
>    two special interest groups — to design a new Online Trust and Safety Hub, set to launch in 2026. The   
>    Common Good Cyber Fund was also launched in 2025 as a global initiative to strengthen cybersecurity for the   
>    public good.   
>       
>    Encryption Advocacy   
>       
>    * 14,479 participants in Global Encryption Day events   
>       
>    * A coordinated campaign by the Global Encryption Coalition — of which ISOC is a founding member —   
>     successfully defeated a French anti-encryption bill that would have required companies to provide access to   
>     decrypted messages   
>       
>    * ISOC also fought Canada’s Bill C-2, which threatened warrantless access to personal data; after ISOC’s open   
>     letter was cited in parliamentary debate, the government withdrew the bill and committed to a revised   
>     version   
>       
>    Internet Governance — A Landmark Year   
>       
>    After years of multistakeholder advocacy, UN Member States formally reaffirmed the multistakeholder model   
>    of Internet governance and gave the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) a permanent mandate. ISOC chapters,   
>    organization members, and staff played a central role. The Foundation invested $517,880 in global, regional,   
>    and national IGFs and Schools of Internet Governance in 2025, part of more than $2 million committed since   
>    2020.   
>       
>    Data and Policy Advocacy   
>       
>    The Pulse platform — ISOC’s real-time Internet resilience and policy data resource — was cited 188 times in   
>    media, advocacy, and research in 2025, a 40%+ increase from 2024. It tracked:   
>       
>    * 16,783 hours of intentional Internet shutdowns globally   
>       
>    * An estimated $134 million in combined GDP impact from those shutdowns   
>       
>    Chapters in seven African countries used Pulse data to advocate for full restoration of connectivity. In South   
>    Sudan, Pulse data helped make the case for the country’s first-ever IXP.   
>       
>    The Foundation’s Broader Role   
>       
>    Beyond its grantmaking, the Internet Society Foundation functions as the philanthropic engine of the ISOC   
>    ecosystem — mobilizing resources, cultivating future Internet leaders, and ensuring long-term financial   
>    sustainability. In 2025, the Foundation helped launch co-funding partnerships with governments (Australia,   
>    Canada, the Netherlands, the UK) and Craig Newmark Philanthropies, with a combined target of directing   
>    more than $80 million by end of 2029 through the Community-Centered Connectivity Initiative, the Safer   
>    Internet Initiative, and the Common Good Cyber Fund.   
>       
>    Financials   
>       
>    * Total revenues: $66.2M (including $58M PIR contribution to ISOC)   
>       
>    * Total expenses: $53.1M   
>       
>    * Investment gains and other activities: $16.5M   
>       
>    * Change in net assets: $29.6M   
>       
>    * Largest expense categories: grantmaking (35%), general and management (25%), connectivity programs   
>     (12%), security (11%)   
>       
>    Looking Ahead to 2026   
>       
>    ISOC plans to accelerate community-centered connectivity, scale local technical training in underserved   
>    regions, launch the Online Trust and Safety Hub, and deepen advocacy on encryption, intermediary   
>    protections, and open standards. The co-funding model is central to delivering impact at scale on the road to   
>    2030.   
> *

--
Christian de Larrinaga
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     Dr. Alejandro Pisanty
Facultad de Química UNAM
Av. Universidad 3000, 04510 Mexico DF Mexico
+525541444475
Blog: http://pisanty.blogspot.com
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/pisanty
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