I Refuse to Accept a Censored Internet: An Invitation to FOSDEM 27

Bogomil Shopov – Бого

Date: October 25, 2026
Author: Bogomil Shopov (Бого)

"I refuse to accept a censored Internet."

As a manager of the Digital Dissident Devroom, I am extending an invitation to join a critical dialogue that we simply cannot afford to ignore. Across the globe, individuals are being systematically monitored, silenced, and stripped of their right to access information.

While Free Software provides the foundation for change, it only works if we collaborate. We must engineer tools that users can actually trust and control—tools designed to facilitate safe communication, unveil the truth, and actively resist censorship.

Our Mission

This devroom is a sanctuary for activists, researchers, developers, and anyone dedicated to the cause of digital liberty. We are seeking:

Real-world solutions
Transparent lessons learned
Cross-project collaboration
~~Product pitches~~ $\rightarrow$ Technical contributions

If you believe that technology should be a tool for human empowerment rather than a mechanism for control, you belong here.

Defining the "Digital Dissident" Devroom

FOSDEM already hosts various rooms dedicated to privacy, security, messaging, and decentralized networks. However, a person living under an authoritarian regime (such as in China, Russia, Iran, Belarus, or Myanmar) does not rely on a single isolated tool. Their survival and security depend on a complete chain of tools that must remain unbroken from end to end.

The Toolchain Logic

The security of a dissident can be represented as a product of the reliability of every tool in their stack: $\text{Total Security} = \text{Circumvention} \times \text{Anonymity} \times \text{Secure Storage} \times \text{Safe Publishing}$

If any single link in this chain fails (e.g., a messenger that leaks metadata via Google/Apple push notifications), the entire system collapses.

The Digital Dissident Devroom brings together the creators of circumvention, whistleblowing, publishing, and anonymity tools into one space. We judge sessions based on how they improve this toolchain through:

Interoperability
Shared threat models
Shared engineering practices
Shared failure data

The Evolving Threat Landscape

Censorship in regions like Iran, China, and Russia has evolved beyond simple IP blocking. Modern adversaries utilize:

Network Level: National allow-lists, whitelist-only shutdowns, and TLS/QUIC fingerprinting.
Inspection: Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) paired with active probing.
Infrastructure: Throttling specific protocols and implementing "sovereign internet" routing.
Application Level: Removing circumvention tools from app stores and forcing the use of state-mandated messengers.

The Developer Response: To counter this, the community has innovated with pluggable transports, mixnets, email-based messaging, domain fronting alternatives, and advanced obfuscation protocols.

Comparison: Digital Dissident vs. Decentralized Internet & Privacy

Feature	Decentralized Internet & Privacy	Digital Dissident
Primary Focus	Technology classes (P2P, Browsers, Infrastructure)	The User under threat
Organizing Principle	Decentralization as a technical goal	The end-to-end protection chain
Scope	Broad ecosystem of decentralized tech	Specific tools for high-risk environments

Note: We intend to coordinate schedules with the Decentralized room to avoid overlaps and ensure speakers find the best fit.

Core Themes for Proposals

We are looking for contributions in the following areas:

Circumvention & Transport: Obfuscation, resisting active probing, bridge distribution, and surviving full internet shutdowns.
Metadata-Resistant Comms: Onion routing, mixnets, federated messengers, and offline-first options (e.g., Bluetooth, Wi-Fi Direct, or sneakernets).
Secure Publishing: Whistleblowing platforms, document sanitization, provenance, and censorship-resistant hosting.
OpSec & Hardware: Hardened systems, amnesic OSs, and strategies for border-crossing or device seizure.
Human-Centric Design: Onboarding users under duress, safe defaults, and field-testing effectiveness.
Adversary Analysis: Open data on blocking events and reproducible research on how censors operate.
Digital Sovereignty (Secondary): Reducing reliance on Big Tech (cloud providers, app stores, and centralized identity).

Session Format & Quality Control

To maintain high engagement, the room will feature:

Technical Talks: 20 to 30 minutes in length.
Closing Discussion: An open forum focusing on interoperability gaps and future milestones.

Submission Requirements: Organizers will evaluate proposals based on technical merit and their fit within the "toolchain" framework. We strive for a diverse balance of researchers, established projects, new initiatives, and voices from affected communities.

Mandatory for every talk:

An explicit threat model.
An honest assessment of the tool's limitations.

How to Apply

Ready to contribute? Follow these steps:

Visit the official FOSDEM CFP portal.
Login or create a new account.
Select Submit a proposal.
Fill out the application form.
Choose Digital Dissident as your track.

Warning: By submitting, you automatically agree to abide by the FOSDEM Code of Conduct.