State Department launches digital free-speech program with Palantir, Anduril and other partners

The State Department announced the Freedom Tech Excellence Program, pairing employees from Palantir Technologies, Anduril Industries, the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation and the Bitcoin Policy Institute to advise on digital freedom-of-expression, privacy-enhancing technologies and online child protection. Participants will serve limited-term, one-year stints at the bureau, with the option to extend, and will receive no salary from the department; the first assignment is slated to begin within the year.

The Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, created by Congress, received an unusual $40 million grant to join the effort. The Bitcoin Policy Institute, founded in 2021, argues that decentralized technologies weaken authoritarian influence. Critics such as former FBI cybersecurity official Chris Painter and Carnegie Endowment senior fellow Steve Feldstein have expressed concern over the suitability of defense contractors for a free-speech mandate.

Former State Department official Michelle Giuda, now CEO of the Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy, defended the eclectic partner mix as a way to bring diverse expertise to a complex challenge. The program echoes a prior Biden-era talent exchange that involved firms like Intel and Amazon Web Services, though it is unclear if the two initiatives are identical.