We champion everyone’s right to free knowledge online.
We protect users’ privacy and speech. We educate governments and policymakers about the importance of the free and open internet. Regardless of location or circumstance, everyone has the right to seek and share knowledge.
Protecting the right to speak and learn freely
We shape public policy that opens access to free online knowledge around the globe. Government imposed censorship and overzealous copyright laws should not stand in the way of international knowledge-sharing.
Defending free expression
Last year we received 684 takedown requests and granted zero. Governments and individuals often ask us to change project content or share information about our users. We push back when these requests could harm users’ rights. We tell you about these requests in our Transparency Report.
Standing up for our users
We help contributors respond to legal threats relating to their work on Wikimedia projects. We have joined legal efforts like the opposition to the 2017 US travel ban. We are suing the United States National Security Agency, challenging their mass surveillance of Wikimedia users and contributors.
Supporting community voices
Volunteer contributors take the lead on editorial decisions. Our public policy efforts and research initiatives focus on maintaining the legal protections that make that possible.
Speak up for free knowledge and access
Just 27% of internet users in Nigeria had heard of Wikipedia in 2016. Today, that number is up to 48%. Our organization is committed to increasing awareness of Wikipedia outside of North America and Europe, in order to expand global knowledge participation.
Fight legal battles to make free knowledge possible
Access to knowledge around the world is under constant attack. At Wikimedia, we work to give access to knowledge to everyone, for free, forever. We fight against censorship, and fiercely promote open licenses to ensure our materials can be used and revised globally.
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The Wikimedia Foundation stands with its communities around the world in defending free knowledge in the face of threats from the Russian government
Цей пост також доступний українською мовою.Этот пост также доступен на русском языке. On 1 March 2022 the Wikimedia Foundation received a Russian government demand to remove content related to the unprovoked invasion of Ukraine posted by volunteer contributors to Russian Wikipedia. The Wikimedia Foundation and the movement we are part of have never backed down….
The Digital Services Act could require big changes to digital platforms. Here are 4 things lawmakers need to know to protect people-powered spaces like Wikipedia.
Update: The European Parliament’s Internal Market Committee voted on key provisions of the Digital Services Act (DSA) on 13 December 2021. For an overview of the vote and what this means for the future of the DSA, read our post on Medium. The Wikimedia Foundation, the nonprofit that operates Wikipedia, applauds European policymakers’ efforts to….
Elsewhere in Wikimedia — En Otro Lugar de Wikimedia
More about Wikimedia advocacy
Policies on access to knowledge, censorship, copyright, intermediary liability, and privacy directly affect the vibrancy of Wikimedia projects.
Help us unlock the world’s knowledge.
As a nonprofit, Wikipedia and our related free knowledge projects are powered primarily through donations.
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Photo credits
Felix, Satdeep, Stalinjeet and Manavpreet at Wikimedia Conference 2017
Jason Krüger for Wikimedia Deutschland e.V.
Wikipedia promotional video - Superdotada
Wikimedia Mexico, ISLA, NatalyPop, and the Wikimedia Foundation
