CloudFlare, a leading online security and CDN service has teamed up with 14 NGOs including ACUL, the Center for Democracy and Technology, EFF, and Mozilla, for the Project Galileo, an initiative to extend its “full, enterprise-class DDoS attack protection at no cost.”
The company aims to identify public interest site for “free-expression online,” and ensure that their voice is protected from being silenced.
“CloudFlare created Project Galileo to protect politically and artistically important organizations and journalists against attacks that would otherwise censor their work,” CloudFlare said.
“As part of the project, CloudFlare provide its state-of-the-art DDoS mitigation technology—for free—to any qualified vulnerable public interest website.”
The non-governmental organizations and groups in the Project Galileo initiative are – Access, American Civil Liberties Union, Center for Democracy and Technology, Centre for Policy Alternatives, Committee to Protect Journalists, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Engine Advocacy, Free Press, Freedom of the Press Foundation, Media Investment Development Fund, Meedan, Mozilla, Open Tech Fund, and Open Technology Institute.
“I don’t want a single point of failure,” says Access co-founder Brett Solomon. “I don’t want to be in a position where it’s just Google or it’s just Galileo.”
CloudFlare has certain criteria for participating websites –
- Engaged in news gathering, political/artistic speech, or civil society
- Subject of online attacks for the content
- A small commercial entity or a non-profit organization
- Should act in the public interest, broadly defined.
Global citizen journalist websites, LGBT groups in Africa and the Middle East, minority-rights organizations, and independent media in the developing world are among the 100+ sites already protected by the project.
Back in October last year, Google launched a similar initiative, dubbed Project Shield, focusing on “websites serving media, elections, and human-rights-related content.” The project is reportedly in its testing phase and is still invite only. However, there isn’t any information including user numbers, partner information or charges about the project from the company as of now.
