Dear relay operators,

Last week, we kicked off a campaign to grow the number of Tor WebTunnel bridges. And the response has been amazing! In less than five days, we've already increased 80+ new WebTunnel bridges!

Today is 'Cyber Monday', and it's a good opportunity to take advantage of special offers from hosting providers and contribute to this campaign.

Learn how to join this campaign below or read our blog post for more details: https://blog.torproject.org/call-for-webtunnel-bridges/

Thank you for running relays & bridges, Gus

## Summary

We are calling on the Tor community and the Internet freedom community to help us scale up WebTunnel bridges. If you've ever thought about running a Tor bridge, now is the time.

Recent reports from Tor users in Russia indicate an escalation in online censorship with the goal of blocking access to Tor and other circumvention tools. This new wave includes attempts to block Tor bridges and pluggable transports developed by the Tor Project, removal of circumvention apps from stores, and targeting popular hosting providers, shrinking the space for bypassing censorship. Despite these ongoing actions, Tor remains effective.

One alarming trend is the targeted blocking of popular hosting providers by Roscomnadzor. As many circumvention tools are using them, this action made some Tor bridges inaccessible to many users in Russia. As Roscomnadzor and internet service providers in Russia are increasing their blocking efforts, the need for more WebTunnel bridges has become urgent.

## Bridge campaign rules for participation

The campaign starts today, November 28, 2024, and will run until March 10, 2025. As a token of our appreciation for your volunteer work, we're offering a Tor t-shirt to operators who run 5 or more WebTunnel bridges during this period.

Please note: Only one t-shirt will be awarded per operator. See the technical requirements below to participate in the campaign.

WebTunnel deployment guide: https://community.torproject.org/relay/setup/webtunnel/

## Technical requirements to join this campaign

1. Operators must run one WebTunnel bridge per IPv4. It is acceptable to use multiple subdomains or distinct domains. 2. Include a valid email address as your contact information. Or we won't be able to confirm and validate your participation in the campaign. 3. Maintain your bridges running for at least 1 year. 4. Ensure your bridges have a solid uptime, operating close to 24/7. Reboots for updates are fine. 5. Your bridge must remain functional during the campaign period. 6. Do not host your bridges with Hetzner. See: https://ntc.party/t/12845

## How to participate

After spinning up and verifying that your 5 WebTunnel bridges are working, confirm your participation by emailing frontdesk@torproject.org with the following template:

``` Subject: Participation in Bridge Campaign 2025 Body: Hi, I'm signing up for the Tor Bridge Campaign. These are my bridges: <Add here your bridge lines> My t-shirt is (pick your size: https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/community/team/-/wikis/tshirts/tshirt-size...). ```

To validate your participation, please contact us using the same email address listed in your contactinfo. You can expect your reward to be shipped in Q2 2025.