Dear friends,

We live in a time when many people cannot freely access information. Governments in some countries block websites, limit access to vital resources, and decide what their people can or cannot see online. This censorship affects millions of lives, keeping them in isolation and suppressing the free flow of ideas. But we have the power to fight this. By making a simple change to the existing standards and introduction of a simple adjustment to HTTP(s) protocol, we can enable every website to become a gateway to the open internet.

If we act now to adjust the HTTP(s) protocol, we can break through these barriers. This small but crucial change would empower every website to act as a proxy, enabling users to bypass restrictions and access the open internet securely. Without this action, censorship will continue to grow, silencing voices, cutting off access to essential information, and depriving millions of basic freedoms. By adopting this protocol adjustment, we can make the internet a tool for liberation rather than control, ensuring that no government can suppress information at scale.

Countries Where Censorship Thrives
In countries like Russia, Belarus, Iran, China, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Vietnam, and many others, governments tightly control what their citizens can access online. They block news, educational content, social media platforms, and even communication tools. This prevents people from connecting with the outside world and denies them basic freedoms.

Recipients of This Petition
To make this vision a reality, we call on the following groups to take action:

Internet Standardization Bodies:

• IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force)
• W3C (World Wide Web Consortium)
  These organizations must adopt and formalize this protocol adjustment as part of the official HTTP(s) standards.

Web Browser Developers:

• Google (Chrome)
• Apple (Safari)
• Mozilla (Firefox)
• Microsoft (Edge)
• Opera, Brave, and others
  These companies must implement support for the updated protocol in their browsers, empowering users to access the internet freely.

Web Server Developers:

• Apache HTTP Server
• NGINX
• Microsoft IIS
• LiteSpeed
• Caddy
  These platforms must support the adjusted HTTP(s) protocol, enabling their servers to act as proxies for unrestricted access.

Tech Giants and Service Providers:
Companies like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, Cloudflare, and Akamai must also support and promote this standard to ensure global adoption and accessibility.

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Our Goal
1. End Censorship:
By allowing any HTTP(s) server to act as a proxy, we can bypass restrictions imposed by authoritarian regimes. If a website is blocked, users can still access its content indirectly through other websites that support this protocol.
2. Protect Privacy and Security:
The updated protocol would work over HTTPS, ensuring that user requests and responses are encrypted and shielded from prying eyes.
3. Promote Accessibility and Resilience:
Universal proxy capability would strengthen the internet’s resilience, making it much harder for any regime to suppress information by blocking domains or IP addresses.

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Technical Details (Simplified)
In normal situations, when you visit a website, your browser connects directly to it. If the website is blocked, you’re out of luck. With our proposed change, you could use any other website as a bridge to access the blocked content.

1. Absolute URLs in Requests:

• Allow the request line of an HTTP GET request to specify the full destination URL.
  Example: GET https://example.com/content HTTP/1.1

2. Proxy-Mode Signal:

• Introduce a simple optional header (e.g., X-Proxy-Mode: on) to let the server know it’s being asked to fetch data from another site.

3. Server Behavior:

If the server receives a full URL and the X-Proxy-Mode: on header, it fetches the data from the specified site and returns it to the user.

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Technical Details (For Engineers and Developers)

• Absolute URL in Request Line:
  HTTP/1.1 already permits absolute URLs in proxy scenarios. We propose extending this functionality to origin servers, allowing them to interpret such requests.
• Signaling via X-Proxy-Mode:
  This header explicitly communicates the client’s intention to use proxy functionality. Non-supporting servers will simply ignore or reject the request.
• Encryption and Security:
  HTTPS ensures that all request headers, including X-Proxy-Mode, remain encrypted. Although the server acts as an intermediary, it does not expose user requests to unauthorized third parties.
• Implementation Benefits:
  This adjustment dramatically expands the network of potential proxy endpoints, rendering censorship efforts ineffective. It also integrates seamlessly with existing HTTPS mechanisms.
   

Conclusion
Censorship thrives where freedom is absent, but the internet was built to connect and empower. By making a small adjustment to the HTTP(s) protocol, we can create a global network of proxy-capable servers that dismantles barriers to information.

We urge the IETF, W3C, browser developers, web server developers, cloud providers, and all stakeholders to come together and adopt this change. Let us protect the fundamental right to information and ensure a free and open internet for all.

Submitted with determination to create a freer world.