“Don’t Blink”: Protecting the Wikimedia model, its people, and its values in February 2026 – Diff

“Don’t Blink”: Protecting the Wikimedia model, its people, and its values in February 2026 – Diff
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Image collage for the February 2026 issue of “Don’t Blink.” Image by the
Wikimedia Foundation
CC BY-SA 4.0
, via
Wikimedia Commons
Welcome to “Don’t Blink”! Every month we share developments from around the world that shape people’s ability to participate in the free knowledge movement. In case you blinked last month, here are the most important public policy advocacy topics that have kept the
Wikimedia Foundation
busy.
The Global Advocacy team works to advocate laws and government policies that protect the volunteer community-led Wikimedia model, Wikimedia’s people, and the Wikimedia movement’s core values. To learn more about us and the work we do with the rest of the Foundation: visit our
Meta-Wiki webpage
; follow us on
X (formerly Twitter)
, and
Bluesky
; and, sign up for our
quarterly newsletter
or
Wikimedia public policy mailing list
________
Demonstrating Wikimedia’s value in critical conversations about artificial intelligence (AI)
AI has seen an explosion of development and investment in the past few years. It is being adopted by governments and businesses, and is also changing how people browse the internet and discover new information. For the Wikimedia projects, this rapid shift in online behavior has affected how readers discover the projects, creating new challenges to how we attract and retain volunteer editors. Meanwhile, many AI search tools and content generators scrape Wikipedia for up-to-date information, taxing our servers without giving anything back.
We have begun to adapt to this new landscape,
partnering with technology companies through Wikimedia Enterprise
and
experimenting with ways to inspire new generations of Wikipedia readers and contributors
. There is still work to be done to ensure the sustainability of our projects in this new era, however.
Governments are also reacting to the opportunities and threats posed by these new technologies, investing in positive uses and regulating harmful ones. That makes now the most important time to make sure that the voices of community-led, public interest projects are heard in these important decisions about how the future of the internet will be shaped.
That is why the Wikimedia Foundation and Wikimedia affiliates are showing up to policy spaces and conversations where these important decisions are happening.
Discussing how to protect the open web in the age of AI at State of the Net
[Learn more about the
State of the Net
conference and
how we are protecting our infrastructure
from AI crawlers]
Every year, the State of the Net Conference takes place in Washington, DC, in the United States. The conference brings together government policymakers with experts in internet policy to discuss emerging issues in the field. This year the theme of the conference was “More than Meets the AI;” discussions focused on the vast impact that AI has had on the internet and the world at large. Staff from several Foundation teams joined to share the challenges that AI has presented to our volunteer and nonprofit model as well as the steps we are taking to address these.
In a lightning talk presented alongside the
Internet Archive
, Stan Adams (Lead Public Policy Specialist for North America) shared some of the impact web scrapers used by AI have on the Wikimedia projects. Stan explained some of the costs to the Foundation of the vast increase in web scraping, and also our concerns about the effects of content reuse on our ability to reach readers, editors, and donors. Lila Bailey (Senior Policy Counsel, Internet Archive) discussed the topic from a different angle: Lila highlighted the need for nuanced solutions to address these reuse and scraping issues that do not impact the open web, which provides access to information for billions online. It is important that AI companies that rely on public interest platforms for their content find ways to give back to them, but these solutions
must preserve the ability of organizations like the Internet Archive to continue to preserve and archive the web
for posterity.
Discussion on this theme continued in a side event alongside the conference that we cohosted, titled “Preserving the Open Internet in the Age of AI.” At the event, Lane Becker (Senior Director, Commercial Partnerships) spoke to those attending about how our paid API-access model for companies, known as
Wikimedia Enterprise
, offers a unique opportunity: Companies that rely on content from  the Wikimedia projects can enjoy a more reliable, speedier experience and at the same time contribute to the sustainability of the projects. Speakers from civil society organizations, academia, and open source projects also shared their perspectives about the need to carefully design policy so they address AI technologies while preserving the ideals of the open web.
Learn more about the
State of the Net
conference and
how we are protecting our infrastructure
from AI crawlers.
Making a mark at India’s AI Impact Summit
[Read more about
our goals
for the AI Impact Summit]
This February, another pivotal moment for the future of emerging technologies was the global AI Impact Summit, held in India. The Summit brought together governments, industry, and civil society to discuss how AI can support global economic and social development. Wikimedia Foundation staff from several teams participated in both the Summit and pre-Summit events to deliver one fundamental message: “Open knowledge, collaborative and transparent, is essential for trustworthy, inclusive AI.”
On a high-level panel presented by Open UK and Open HQ, Jimmy Wales (founder of Wikipedia and member of the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees) explained how open source technologies can support the creation of resilient AI systems for the corporate and the public sectors alike. In particular, the panel explored how governments can avoid overreliance on proprietary AI while building their digital strategies by focusing instead on developing and supporting open source technologies and open knowledge.
Building on
Wikipedia and Wikidata’s recognition as digital public goods
, Jimmy and the rest of our team shared at the Summit how open source projects are already serving as a critical source for AI research and development worldwide. They discussed how to protect these vital sources of human-created knowledge in a world of rapidly advancing technologies that sometimes threaten the sustainability of these sources.
The Summit presented a unique opportunity for us to share both the needs of the Wikimedia volunteer community and the value of their work. It also allowed us to make connections with civil society organizations, open source projects, technology companies, and governments to advocate the need for projects like ours to be centered when planning national digital strategies. The world is experiencing a wave of new ways to access knowledge: Supporting public interest projects and digital public goods is crucial to ensuring that the systems being built now remain grounded in representative and trustworthy information contributed by humans for human benefit.
Read more about
our goals
for the AI Impact Summit.
Making connections between open knowledge and digital rights
In a time of rapid technological advancement and an alarming shrinking of human rights across the world, it is more important than ever that Wikimedians are able to share lessons they have learned from their years of experience supporting truth, transparency, and trust online. Freedom of expression, and the people behind open knowledge like journalists, academics, and even Wikimedia volunteers, are under attack. Our response needs to include making strong connections with others facing the same threats we are, and sharing knowledge and tactics for addressing these problems and upholding digital rights for future generations.
Highlighting open knowledge sessions at RightsCon 2026
[Read more about
our participation
in the conference]
Our team has been busy preparing for
RightsCon 2026
, one of the largest conferences focused on digital rights in the world, which takes place from 5–8 May. RightsCon is a regular venue for Wikimedians to connect with others who are also working toward a better digital world. Recently, we highlighted a number of sessions by Wikimedians and our partners that have been accepted onto the conference schedule, creating a menu of options for attendees interested in open knowledge work and all of the digital rights issues that surround it.
From 5-8 May, Wikimedia Foundation staff and volunteers will contribute to important conversations about AI governance, information integrity, coalition building, and equitable access to knowledge. From workshops on closing knowledge gaps on Wikipedia to dialogues on safeguarding the digital commons in the age of AI, these sessions highlight how the free and open knowledge movement intersects with global digital rights debates.
Close partners of ours who will join these sessions or host their own include: Creative Commons, the Open Knowledge Foundation, Center for Studies on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information (CELE), Derechos Digitales, the Digital Public Goods Alliance, Paradigm Initiative, Global Partners Digital and more. This impressive lineup brings decades of expertise to the new questions and issues facing open knowledge online today.
Registration for the hybrid conference is currently open, so whether you want to join us in person or participate online,
sign up today
to gain access to this trove of insight and experience in fighting for digital rights and free knowledge.
Read more about
our participation
in Rightscon 2026.
Sharing our experience defending digital rights at the TEDIC Bootcamp
about the work TEDIC does in digital rights]
Amalia Toledo (Lead Policy Specialist for Latin America and the Caribbean) joined the 2026 edition of the yearly Bootcamp hosted by
TEDIC
, a digital rights organization based in Paraguay. At the event, Amalia facilitated a session designed to provide participants with concrete knowledge and skills to effectively address human rights challenges in the digital age, particularly those affecting free expression.
During the session, she explained some of the key legal frameworks in Latin America necessary to preserve rights online, and highlighted threats to free expression online like disinformation and abusive copyright enforcement. As the host of a now 25-year-old project, it is important that the Foundation share lessons learned and our experiences defending against attacks on open knowledge with others who are facing such threats.
about the work TEDIC does in digital rights.
Envisioning the future of open digital ecosystems in the European Union
Contributing to the European Commission call for evidence on open digital ecosystems
[Read
our submission
to the call for evidence]
In February 2026, the Foundation responded to a
call for evidence
from the European Commission about how to better support the future of open digital ecosystems in the European Union. In the Foundation’s submission we highlighted a few important messages:
The value of open source for developing technological skills in EU Member States’ societies and of contributing to digital resilience at the national level;
The importance of investment in a flourishing digital commons as a source of trust and diversity in the open information ecosystem; and
The need for financial support for digital public goods to make them sustainable in the face of new technological developments.
We are encouraged to see that much of our feedback was shared by others. The Open Future Foundation has started
collecting and analyzing
the more than 1600 responses to this consultation, grouping these into a few key themes:
The need for sustained, predictable investment in open source infrastructure at the national and regional level;
The recognition of open source as more than just a type of license, and that the digital commons requires acknowledgement and support to thrive; and
The use of public procurement as a method of digital sovereignty and a major support for an open digital ecosystem.
We hope that by contributing our voice alongside many other open source, public interest projects, the European Commission will recognize the value of these shared, public interest resources and the need to provide support for the open source ecosystem for everyone’s mutual benefit.
Read
our submission
to the call for evidence.
________
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________
Follow us on
X (formerly Twitter)
, and
Bluesky
; visit our
Meta-Wiki webpage
; sign up for our
quarterly newsletter
to receive updates; and, join our
Wikipedia public policy mailing list
. We hope to see you there!
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Photo credits
Image collage for the February 2026 issue of Don't Blink (Diff monthly public policy advocacy recap blog post series)
MVerde-WMF
CC BY-SA 4.0
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