US to unveil platform aiming to bypass internet censorship in China, Iran and beyond

FIRST ON FOX: The State Department has finalized a new privacy-preserving app intended to give users worldwide access to what officials describe as the same uncensored internet available to Americans, even in countries with strict online repression such as China and Iran and as Europe enacts tighter content oversight. 

The platform, Freedom.gov, will roll out “in the coming weeks,” Fox News Digital has learned. 

It will operate as a one-click desktop and mobile application compatible with iOS and Android devices.

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The app is open-source and includes built-in anonymity protections. 

The initiative comes as governments worldwide tighten control over digital speech, from China’s “Great Firewall” to sweeping internet shutdowns in Iran and new regulatory regimes in Europe. U.S. officials say Freedom.gov is designed to offer a technological counterweight — exporting what they describe as America’s open internet model to users living under censorship.

“In the interest of total transparency, we made Freedom.gov completely open-source. But we also made it completely anonymous,” a State Department official said. “Anyone can see how it works. No one, including us, can track or identify you.”

According to the official, the application does not log IP addresses, session data, browsing activity, DNS queries or device identifiers that could be used to personally identify users.

Specific details about the app’s underlying technical structure were not disclosed.

Governments with sophisticated censorship systems historically have moved quickly to block or criminalize circumvention tools. Authorities can restrict app downloads, block domains, throttle traffic or impose penalties on users.

Whether Freedom.gov maintains accessibility in heavily restricted environments may depend on its technical architecture and its ability to adapt to countermeasures.

The initiative is being led by Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy Sarah Rogers, who oversees the State Department’s Digital Freedom office.

“Freedom.gov is the latest in a long line of efforts by the State Department to protect and promote fundamental freedoms, both online and offline,” Rogers said. “The project will be global in its scope, but distinctly American in its mission: commemorating our commitment to free expression as we approach our 250th birthday.”

Reuters previously reported that the State Department was developing the Freedom.gov platform.

The rollout comes amid intensifying global battles over internet governance, as governments across Europe and beyond move to assert greater control over online content.

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In Europe, regulators have tightened oversight under new laws aimed at policing digital platforms. The European Union’s Digital Services Act expands government authority over major platforms and requires removal of illegal content, including hate speech and extremist material, with regulators empowered to impose steep fines for violations.

In the United Kingdom, the Online Safety Act imposes new obligations on platforms to address harmful and illegal content and includes age-verification requirements for certain services. Critics warn the measures risk incentivizing aggressive content removal and expanding government influence over lawful speech online.

Elsewhere, restrictions have been more direct. Russia recently moved to ban WhatsApp, further consolidating state control over digital communications.

China maintains the world’s most sophisticated online censorship system, widely known as the “Great Firewall,” blocking foreign news outlets and social media platforms while promoting a state-controlled digital ecosystem.

Iran repeatedly has imposed sweeping internet shutdowns during periods of unrest. During protests, government blackouts have cut citizens off from global communications.

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The Wall Street Journal previously reported that thousands of Starlink satellite internet terminals were covertly brought into the country following a blackout, in an effort backed by the United States to help dissidents bypass censorship. 

Iranian authorities have attempted to jam satellite signals and criminalized possession of such equipment. Satellite connectivity — which does not rely on domestic telecommunications infrastructure — has emerged as one of the few viable lifelines during shutdowns.

Trump gives Iran 10-day ultimatum, but experts signal talks may be buying time for strike

President Trump said in June he would decide “within the next two weeks” whether to strike Iran. He made the decision two days later.

On Thursday, he gave Tehran another deadline, saying the Islamic Republic has 10 to 15 days to come to the negotiating table or face consequences.

The compressed timeline now sits at the center of a new round of high-stakes nuclear diplomacy. But with Trump, deadlines can serve as both a warning and a weapon.

Jason Brodsky, policy director at United Against Nuclear Iran, told Fox News Digital, “The Iranian regime has been operating under a grand delusion that they can turn President Trump into President Obama, and President Trump has made it clear that that’s not happening.”

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Brodsky said there is little expectation inside the administration that diplomacy will produce a breakthrough. 

“I think there’s deep skepticism in the Trump administration that this negotiation is going to produce any acceptable outcome,” he said. 

Instead, he said, the talks may be serving a dual purpose. 

“They’re using the diplomatic process to sharpen the choices of the Iranian leadership and to buy time to make sure that we have the appropriate military assets in the region,” Brodsky said. 

A Middle Eastern source with knowledge of the negotiations told Fox News Digital Tehran understands how close the risk of war feels and is unlikely to deliberately provoke Trump at this stage.

However, the source said Iran cannot accept limitations on its short-range missile program, describing the issue as a firm red line set by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Iranian negotiators are not authorized to cross that boundary, and conceding on missiles would be viewed internally as equivalent to losing a war.

The source indicated there may be more flexibility about uranium enrichment parameters if sanctions relief is part of the equation.

According to Brodsky, Iran’s core positions remain unchanged. 

“They’re trying to engage in a lot of distraction — shiny objects — to distract from the fact that they’re not prepared to make the concessions that President Trump is requiring of them,” he said. 

“The Iranian positions do not change and have not changed fundamentally. They refuse to accept President Trump’s position on zero enrichment. They refuse to dismantle their nuclear infrastructure. They refuse limitations on Iran’s missile program, and they refuse to end support for terror groups.”

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Behnam Taleblu, senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, warned that Tehran may be preparing a different kind of proposal altogether.

“The first kind of deal that we have to be worried about … they may pitch an agreement that is based more on transposing the current reality onto paper. … These kinds of agreements are more like understandings,” Taleblu said.

“You take the present reality, and you transpose that onto paper, and then you make the U.S. pay for something it already achieved.”

Taleblu outlined what he sees as Tehran’s strategic objectives. 

“The Iranians want three things, essentially,” he said. “The first is they want to deter and prevent a strike.

“The second is that they are actually using negotiations … to take the wind out of the wings of Iranian dissidents. And then the third is… they actually do want some kind of foreign financial stabilization and sanctions relief.”

“What the Iranians want is to play for time. … An agreement like this doesn’t really require the Iranians to offer anything.”

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At the same time, Taleblu said the administration’s intentions remain deliberately opaque. 

“It’s hard to read the tea leaves of the administration here,” Taleblu said. “Obviously, they don’t want a nuclear Iran, but also obviously they don’t want a long war in the Middle East.

“The military architecture they’re moving into the region is signaling that they’re prepared to engage in one anyway. The question that the administration has not resolved politically … is: What is the political end state of the strikes? That’s the cultivation of ambiguity that the president excels at.”

Jacob Olidort, chief research officer and director of American security at the America First Policy Institute, told Fox News Digital, “The President has been clear that he wants to give diplomacy a chance. However, if, in his estimation, diplomatic efforts prove unsuccessful, he will almost certainly turn to military options. What is rightfully unpredictable is the specific objective and scope of military action the President may take.

“Specifically, will military action serve as a new layer of diplomatic pressure towards creating a new opportunity to make Iran agree to our demands — military force as coercive diplomacy — or simply achieve the intended objectives that diplomacy could not? Regardless, the President has a record of taking bold action to protect the American people from Iran’s threats.”

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Public sentiment inside Iran remains deeply divided, Iranian sources told Fox News Digital. Many view a foreign military invasion as unacceptable, while anger over the killing of young protesters continues to fuel domestic tensions and uncertainty.

With a 10 to 15-day window ticking, Trump’s deadline may function less as a calendar marker and more as leverage.

Trump says he is ‘considering’ a limited military strike to pressure Iran into nuclear deal

President Donald Trump said Friday he is “considering” a limited military strike on Iran to pressure its leaders into a deal over its nuclear program.

“I guess I can say, I am considering that,” Trump said at a breakfast with governors at the White House, after being asked by a reporter, “Are you considering a limited military strike to pressure Iran into a deal?”

The president on Thursday suggested the window for a breakthrough is narrowing, indicating Iran has no more than “10, 15 days, pretty much maximum” to reach an agreement.

“We’re either going to get a deal, or it’s going to be unfortunate for them,” he said.

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Trump’s remarks come as the U.S. is building up military assets in the Middle East, sending the USS Gerald R. Ford and its strike group toward the region.

The USS Abraham Lincoln and three guided-missile destroyers arrived in the Middle East more than two weeks ago.  

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On Wednesday, U.S. Central Command posted photos showing F/A-18 Super Hornets landing on the decks of the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea.

The next day, Russia warned Iran and “all parties in the region to exercise restraint and caution.”

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“Russia continues to develop relations with Iran, and in doing so, we call on our Iranian friends and all parties in the region to exercise restraint and caution, and we urge them to prioritize political and diplomatic means in resolving any problems,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, according to Reuters. 

As war losses near 2 million, Russia accused of trafficking foreign recruits from Africa, Asia

As the war in Ukraine enters its fifth year, the central challenge facing both Moscow and Kyiv is no longer territory alone. It is manpower.

Both Russia and Ukraine face a growing manpower crisis. Western estimates put Ukrainian military casualties at roughly 500,000 to 600,000 since 2022, including more than 100,000 killed, while Russia is believed to have suffered about 1.2 million casualties. Combined battlefield casualties on both sides may now be approaching two million, according to recent analyses.

Now, in an exclusive statement to Fox News Digital, the Ukrainian human rights organization Truth Hounds said Russia is increasingly turning to vulnerable foreign nationals, including recruits from Africa and Asia, through coercive and deceptive recruitment practices that in some cases may amount to human trafficking.

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“The patterns of recruitment in different countries and regions are quite similar,” Truth Hounds said. “Two main categories for foreign fighters could be defined. First, persons who were already in Russia, such as students and migrant workers. Second, those who were recruited in their countries of origin.”

According to the organization, many recruits were promised civilian jobs with substantially higher salaries than in their home countries but were later compelled to sign military contracts written in Russian without translation.

“In many of these cases — both when recruitment happens outside and inside Russia — there are plenty of facts indicating potential human trafficking,” the group said.

Truth Hounds said it documented cases in which individuals detained inside Russia were beaten, tortured or otherwise coerced into signing military contracts.

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“Under such circumstances, it is difficult to characterize their enlistment in the Russian army as voluntary. Rather, these cases involve coercion into military service and exploitation — patterns that are consistent across documented cases globally, when it comes to Russian recruitment practices,” the organization said.

The group cited figures from Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War indicating that more than 18,000 foreigners had joined the Russian army as of late last year, with the number continuing to grow. Truth Hounds said its interviews with foreign prisoners of war, including several from African states, revealed similar recruitment patterns.

According to a report published by INPACT in February 2026, nearly 1,500 Africans were enlisted between 2023 and mid-2025, 316 of whom died because of a few kilometers of snow in Ukraine, a loss rate of 22%. Many others are missing or cannot be reached by their families.

At the same time, the organization cautioned that not all foreign recruits were forced to serve, noting that some joined with a full understanding of the purpose of their travel to Russia and the terms of the contract, though the proportion remains unclear.

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The allegations come as African leaders have begun publicly raising the issue. Kenya’s foreign minister said Nairobi would confront Russian authorities over the recruitment of Kenyan nationals, while South African President Cyril Ramaphosa raised concerns with Russian President Vladimir Putin following distress calls from South African citizens believed to be caught in the conflict, according to Reuters.

Truth Hounds said the legal status of foreign fighters presents a complex overlap between international humanitarian law and international human rights law. Individuals who sign contracts with Russia’s Ministry of Defense are treated as members of the armed forces and are entitled to prisoner-of-war protections, though some cases may also meet the criteria for human trafficking, creating additional legal questions.

“The main question remains how to effectively stop Russia from recruiting such individuals and hold it accountable for the ruined lives of those who have already ended up there,” the organization said.

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Moscow has previously said foreign nationals may voluntarily enlist in its armed forces. It has not publicly acknowledged coercive recruitment practices.

As the war grinds on, the battle for manpower is stretching beyond Europe’s borders, pulling in vulnerable populations from Africa and Asia and raising new diplomatic and legal challenges for governments far from the front lines.

The only map you need to see to understand how serious Trump is about Iran

For weeks, the U.S. military has quietly amassed what President Donald Trump has described as an “armada” in Iran’s backyard. Mapped out across the Persian Gulf and beyond, the deployment tells its own story — one of calculated pressure backed by credible capability.

The latest signal of escalation is the movement of the world’s largest aircraft carrier, the U.S. Navy’s USS Gerald R. Ford, and its strike group from the Caribbean toward the Middle East.

The buildup coincides with indirect negotiations between Washington and Tehran over Iran’s disputed nuclear program. Trump has warned that the regime must fully dismantle its nuclear infrastructure — or face consequences.

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At the heart of America’s force projection is another carrier strike group: USS Abraham Lincoln — a mobile fortress at sea, guarded by destroyers and equipped to unleash precision strikes at a moment’s notice. On deck, F-35 fighters and F/A-18 attack aircraft sit within range of dozens of key Iranian military and nuclear targets.

Meanwhile, in the Eastern Mediterranean, destroyers USS Bulkeley and USS Roosevelt provide additional strike capability and missile defense coverage — and could potentially assist Israel in defending against any Iranian counterattack.

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Farther south, in the Red Sea, USS Delbert B. Black adds another layer of firepower along one of the world’s most important shipping lanes. The Red Sea links the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean through the Suez Canal, a corridor that carries a significant share of global trade and energy supplies. 

A U.S. destroyer there not only protects commercial traffic but also gives Washington the flexibility to respond quickly to threats moving between the Middle East and Europe.

Even closer to Iran’s coastline, in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, USS McFaul and USS Mitscher are operating in one of the most strategically sensitive waterways on the planet. Roughly a fifth of the world’s oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz each day. Their presence signals that the U.S. can both defend that vital choke point and, if necessary, strike Iranian targets from close range.

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Beyond naval forces, U.S. air power is spread across multiple Middle Eastern bases, giving commanders the ability to strike, defend and sustain operations quickly.

Several types of combat aircraft are operating from regional bases, including F-15s, F-16s and the radar-evading F-35. The A-10 specializes in close-air support missions against armored threats.

Those fighters are backed by a network of support aircraft. KC-135 and KC-46 tankers refuel jets midair, allowing them to fly farther and stay aloft longer. EA-18G electronic warfare aircraft can jam enemy radar and communications. E-3 Sentry aircraft serve as airborne command centers, tracking threats across wide areas. P-8 Poseidon planes patrol and monitor maritime activity.

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Additionally, heavy transports — including C-5 Galaxy and C-17 Globemaster aircraft — move troops and equipment, while MQ-9 Reaper drones provide surveillance and can carry precision weapons. The assets give U.S. commanders flexibility to operate across air, sea and land.

Taken together, the air and naval deployments create overlapping strike capability, missile defense coverage and control over major maritime routes. For Iran, it means U.S. forces are not concentrated in a single vulnerable location — they are distributed, layered and positioned to operate from multiple directions at once. 

NORAD scrambles jets to intercept Russian bombers near Alaska

The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) launched multiple U.S. fighter jets after tracking Russian military aircraft operating in the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) on Thursday.

NORAD says it launched two F-16s, two F-35s, one E-3 and four KC-135s to “intercept, positively identify, and escort the aircraft until they departed the Alaskan ADIZ.”

“The Russian military aircraft remained in international airspace and did not enter American or Canadian sovereign airspace,” NORAD said in a press release. “This Russian activity in the Alaskan ADIZ occurs regularly and is not seen as a threat.”

Two Russian Tu-95s, two Su-35s, and one A-50 were identified in the ADIZ, though they did not enter American or Canadian sovereign airspace, according to NORAD.

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The ADIZ airspace is a designated region that requires strict identification procedures between U.S. and Russian aircraft operating in the area. It’s considered a buffer zone that acts as a boundary between the two countries.

“NORAD employs a layered defense network of satellites, ground-based and airborne radars and fighter aircraft to detect and track aircraft and inform appropriate actions. NORAD remains ready to employ a number of response options in defense of North America,” NORAD said in their statement on Thursday.

While this ADIZ isn’t sovereign U.S. airspace, the region is a strategic zone given its proximity to Russia. NORAD noted in their statement that the Russian activity that occurred on Thursday was not seen “as a threat.” 

The military response comes as Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned Iran and “all parties in the [Middle Eastern] region to exercise restraint and caution” as the U.S. continues to expand military presence overseas.

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“Russia continues to develop relations with Iran, and in doing so, we call on our Iranian friends and all parties in the region to exercise restraint and caution, and we urge them to prioritize political and diplomatic means in resolving any problems,” Peskov said Thursday, according to Reuters.

USS Gerald R. Ford, the world’s largest aircraft carrier, and its strike group were deployed from the Caribbean Sea toward the Middle East in early to mid-February. 

The massive carrier was reportedly seen transiting through the Strait of Gibraltar into the Mediterranean Sea this month. USS Gerald R. Ford joins USS Abraham Lincoln and three guided-missile destroyers that also arrived in the Middle East in February.

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Alireza Jafarzadeh, deputy director of the Washington office of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), said that satellite images show that the Iranian regime is attempting to restore “2 trillion” uranium enrichment capabilities at the Isfahan complex, despite talks between the Trump administration and the Middle Eastern country.

The U.S. Air Force and Navy strikes that occurred on June 22 targeted the Isfahan complex, as well as Fordow and Natanz.

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Fox News Digital reached out to NORAD but did not receive a response in time for publication.