Applications Invited for the Digital Freedom Fund Grants

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About the Organization

The Digital Freedom Fund (DFF) is a non-profit organisation that exists to enable the Digital Rights Community to advance human rights in digital spaces through strategic litigation.

DFF enables digital rights strategic litigation by providing funding and strategic input (“Litigation Support”) and bringing the digital rights community together to improve litigation skills and coordinate litigation efforts (“Community Programme”). DFF’s core focus is on the Council of Europe but our Community Programme also supports activists in Latin America and Africa. The impact of legal decisions we support reaches far beyond those directly involved and helps set precedents and create a framework for interpreting international human rights law.

We can provide litigation support throughout the lifecycle of the case—from pre-litigation research through the litigation itself, from its first to last instance in the courts, and post-litigation activities—to ensure that impactful digital rights cases are not lost due to a lack of resources, coordination, or legal expertise.

Our Community Programme brings the Digital Rights Community together to strategise, build impactful partnerships and deepen our collective knowledge on key topics such as AI and digital democracy. We do this through convenings, including digital rights workshops, strategic litigation retreats and clinics. We also develop crucial resources such as our strategic litigation toolkit and guides to support litigators in bringing stronger cases.

About the Grant

The Digital Freedom Fund supports strategic litigation in Europe that contributes to advancing human rights that relate to the use of technology and/or are engaged in the context of digital spaces.

Since 2018, we have approved nearly 150 grants worth over EUR 5 million in total, and supporting the work of around 90 different groups in 30 countries.

Types of grants:

Currently we accept grant applications for two types of activities – litigation track support and pre-litigation research support. Since 2024, litigation track support grants can include post-litigation activities.

Litigation track support

Support for litigation of a case through multiple instances, from first instance through to the final appeal. Litigation track support grants can also include post-litigation activities, such as advocacy or enforcement activities following the judgement made in the final instance of litigation. Example: a challenge before the European Court of Human Rights against police use of facial recognition technology, including a workshop following the final instance to share lessons from the ruling with the wider community.

Pre-litigation support

Support for activities to prepare for already planned litigation. This could include legal research, evidence gathering, forum selection or identifying claimants and project partners. It does not include broad research or general scoping about unplanned litigation. Example: a comparative study between three EU jurisdictions to determine which one offers the best options to address a specific issue under an EU Directive.

To be considered for funding, cases need to go beyond the individual by advancing digital rights through legislative, policy or social change and increasing capacity and collaboration in the digital rights community.

DFF does not prioritise cases related to any digital harm in particular, rather we can consider any case that is seeking to advance digital rights. What is most important is that the case is strategic in the sense of seeking to achieve wider change. Some examples of case topics we can consider include:

• Ensuring the respect for human rights in the application of technology by law enforcement, such as in the context of predictive policing
• Maximising transparency in algorithmic decision making and profiling by government and private actors
• Setting standards to protect individuals against the discriminatory use of technology, such as automated decision making for essential public services
• Challenging the unjustified blocking, filtering and removal of online content, platforms or services
• Ensuring that online content is protected against the illegitimate use of copyright claims
• Ensuring that net neutrality and the principle of equal access to the internet is promoted and respected in practice
• Protecting and safeguarding individuals against unjustified government surveillance
• Protecting personal data and right to privacy under the GDPR
• Enforcing consumer rights in relation to the unauthorised collection and sharing of personal data

Grant size:

As litigators work with different operational models and each case has different dimensions and complexities, grant amounts requested vary. Rather than working with a fixed case support fee, DFF will evaluate each case on its own merits in light of both the general grantmaking criteria and the principle of cost-efficiency.

Over the last few years our annual grants budget has been around EUR 800,000, and we approved around 20 applications per year.

So far the average size of a litigation track support grant is around EUR 45,000 and the average size of a pre-litigation research support grant is around EUR 25,000. We have approved grants as low as EUR 3,000, and in a few rare cases litigation grants of over EUR 100,000.

Eligibility

We will consider applications from digital rights advocates (e.g. NGOs and other entities that pursue a public interest objective), pro bono lawyers, and other litigators seeking to protect and advance digital rights in Europe.

We fund not just digital rights organisations, but also provide support to racial, social, feminist, queer, environmental, migrant rights and economic justice movements and organisations working on digital rights.

How to Apply

The current call for grant applications is running from 1 December 2025 until 17 February 2026.

The application process consists of the following steps:

• Step 1: Eligibility check
• Step 2: Full application
• Step 3: Evaluation by Panel of Experts or Community Peer Group
• Step 4: Decision by DFF Board

Application and assessment process:

The overall duration of the application review process is around three months from the deadline of the call for applications until the final decision by the DFF Board. For example, if the application deadline is 1 March, you can expect a final decision in June. This estimate assumes all application materials are complete and there are no complicating factors. While DFF strives to adhere to this timing, it does not reflect any formal obligation of DFF towards applicants.

In your application, you must demonstrate to have carefully considered and be able to motivate:

• the concrete objectives of the litigation;
• a plan to embed the litigation in a broader strategy for change;
• which groups/communities are most affected by the digital rights issue in question and how they will be involved in a way that is not extractive or harmful;
• the best forum to litigate in order to achieve the pursued objectives;
• the possible instances of litigation that may be necessary to achieve the litigation objective(s), including appeals and referrals to regional courts;
• how the litigation relates to other existing or planned activities on the litigation's subject matter – both litigation and otherwise – domestically and in Europe;
• why litigation is an appropriate tool to employ in this context;
• the identified risks and weaknesses of the litigation and a strategy for mitigation;
• a plan for implementation in case of a positive outcome of the litigation and mitigation in case of a negative or mixed outcome;

For more information please check the Link

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