Our Mission:

OpenMedia is a community-driven organization that works for an open, affordable, and surveillance-free Internet. We're a civic engagement platform that educates, engages, and empowers Internet users to advance digital rights across North America.

What We Do:

We use the Internet to save the Internet. By uniting the voices of many thousands of Internet users, we are building a community that protects and nourishes our access, free expression, and privacy online.

We educate the Internet community about key issues of the day;

We engage Internet users in mass collaborative campaigns using social media and innovative online tools;

We empower people by opening government processes to public input and scrutiny, and by crowdsourcing positive policy plans.

The Internet needs you.

We believe the Internet should be an open place, equally accessible to everyone, that empowers people through a more connected and collaborative world.

So why do we need you?

Because the Internet is in trouble.

We're no longer in the age of an Internet built around you.

Businesses and governments are vying to control the Internet, what you see on it, and how you use it.

But the Internet was created for sharing and connecting, not for censorship or surveillance.

When Big Telecom companies like Bell, Telus and Rogers control the Internet, they slow down your favorite web services, raise prices, and even censor content or entire platforms. That's not fiction. They’re actively lobbying for legislation that will give them these powers, right now.

When Big Tech companies like Amazon and Meta gets their way over the Internet, they build walled gardens that guide us to passively consume "engaging" content - not content that is good for us, that we actually want, or that connects us to the wide web outside their services. 

When government steps in to "do something" about it, too often try to take these levers of power to use them on you, not turn power back over to you. 

Security agencies across the world are turning the greatest tool for connectivity that mankind has ever invented into a tool to spy on the private lives of everybody. And  other government agencies want to decide what you're encouraged or even allowed to see, and what you aren't.

How did I not know about this?

That's how the system works. Discussions on the future of the Internet are not easy to follow. Some of it is technical jargon and complicatedlegislative decisions, and some of it is that powerful stakeholders don't want you and your interests represented in the room. Many of the big discussions on the future of the Internet and how we share information in our society happen in closed-door meetings between powerful industry lobbyists and government bureaucrats.

The more comfortable companies and governments are with how things are working for them, the less easy they make it for you to  understand the issues, get involved and speak out.

And that's where we come in.

What's OpenMedia doing about it?

We make it simple for you to learn about digital issues and connect you with the decision-makers who are weighing what to do about our Internet. We’ve built a community of people who care about the Internet and share their ideas, and we’ve designed tools to help you spread the word and take action.

These are the three pillars to Internet rights that guide our work:

Access

In order for everyone to benefit from the open Internet, we need universal access to fast, open and affordable networks. Access to the Internet is a fundamental human right, not a privilege.

Free Expression

An open Internet is a place of free dialogue and creative expression, a place where we can all connect and collaborate in shaping the solutions to the world’s problems. Censorship and interference—like government takedowns or content blocking—are the enemies of the Internet.

Privacy

An open Internet is free from mass government surveillance and the reckless treatment of sensitive data. Using the Internet to spy on innocent people without their consent degrades our freedom, security, and democracy.

This sounds like a ton of work. What can I do?

It IS a ton of work, but we will make it easy for you to learn about what’s happening and then take action with us. Every day, we demonstrate that when thousands of people like you speak up, governments listen. We’ve created some of the most successful online campaigns to make the Internet the open and liberatory place we know it can be, so we know what works.

The Internet won’t save itself. It needs people like you to save it—to keep it free, open and democratic. You can help by supporting our work through donations or by taking action with us!