The site focuses on the five policy areas that matter most to the Wikimedia projects and mission. These policy areas include access to knowledge, copyright, censorship, intermediary liability, and privacy. This site explains what policies Wikimedians can support to expand and promote free knowledge. With the right laws, policies, and principles, free knowledge will be easier to access, create, share, and remix.

Who are we?

The Wikimedia Foundation is the non-profit organization that operates Wikipedia and other free knowledge projects. The Foundation works closely with Wikimedia community members around the world in shaping public policy to support our mission. This site is a community project to coordinate Wikimedia’s work on public policy, together with other groups that support free knowledge.

Why these policy areas?

This site focuses on five policy areas that directly affect the vibrancy of Wikipedia and the other Wikimedia projects. Public policy on access to knowledge, copyright, censorship, intermediary liability, and privacy have a real impact on Wikimedians’ ability to create, share, and remix free knowledge.

Take the creation of a Wikipedia article as an example. To write and edit a Wikipedia article, you first need access to the site. You need copyright law that allows you to cite and collect knowledge. You need the Wikimedia Foundation to remain a neutral host that cannot be required to delete or alter what you write by governments and others. This in turn requires that you and other contributors have editorial discretion to write encyclopedia articles without unnecessary interference. Finally, you need privacy and anonymity to speak your mind so that you can feel safe writing about possibly controversial topics and tell the facts. That’s why public policy on access to knowledge, copyright, censorship, intermediary protection, and privacy is critical for the creation of a Wikipedia article.

Public policy list

Join the Wikimedia public policy list to discuss these issues with Wikimedians and other people interested in changing the law to better promote collaboration for free knowledge.

The Wikimedia public policy list is an open venue for Wikimedians to discuss public policy developments around the world that are important for the Wikimedia mission.

Get in touch!

If you are organizing a policy action that is within one of our five policy areas, please contact us at policy@wikimedia.org.
{"cc_re__cc_re__cc_by_sa_3_0": [">\n          <p class=\"site-footer-text site-footer-text_left\">\n            <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:About\" class=\"footer-text-link\">Wikipedia\u00ae</a> and other Wikimedia project names and logos are <a href=\"https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Trademark_policy\" class=\"footer-text-link\">registered trademarks of the Wikimedia Foundation</a>, a non-profit organization. \n          </p>\n          <p class=\"site-footer-text site-footer-text_left\">\n            Text licensed under <a href=\"http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/\" class=\"footer-text-link\">Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 unported</a>. Images are <a href=\"http://policy.wikimedia.org/licensing\">freely licensed with attribution</a>. \n          </p>\n          <p class=\"site-footer-text site-footer-text_left\">Powered by <a href=\"https://wpvip.com/?utm_source=vip_powered_wpcom&#038;utm_medium=web&#038;utm_campaign=VIP%20Footer%20Credit&#038;utm_term=policy.wikimedia.org\" rel=\"generator nofollow\" class=\"powered-by-wpcom\">WordPress VIP</a>. <a href=\"https://automattic.com/priv"], "copyright__copyright__copyright": ["olicy list\n\nJoin the Wikimedia public policy list to discuss these issues with Wikimedians and other people interested in changing the law to better promote collaboration for free knowledge.\n\nThe Wikimedia public policy list is an open venue for Wikimedians to discuss public policy developments around the world that are important for the Wikimedia mission.\n\nGet in touch!\n\nIf you are organizing a policy action that is within one of our five policy areas, please contact us at policy@wikimedia.org.", "olicy list\n\nJoin the Wikimedia public policy list to discuss these issues with Wikimedians and other people interested in changing the law to better promote collaboration for free knowledge.\n\nThe Wikimedia public policy list is an open venue for Wikimedians to discuss public policy developments around the world that are important for the Wikimedia mission.\n\nGet in touch!\n\nIf you are organizing a policy action that is within one of our five policy areas, please contact us at policy@wikimedia.org.", "olicy list\n\nJoin the Wikimedia public policy list to discuss these issues with Wikimedians and other people interested in changing the law to better promote collaboration for free knowledge.\n\nThe Wikimedia public policy list is an open venue for Wikimedians to discuss public policy developments around the world that are important for the Wikimedia mission.\n\nGet in touch!\n\nIf you are organizing a policy action that is within one of our five policy areas, please contact us at policy@wikimedia.org.", "olicy list\n\nJoin the Wikimedia public policy list to discuss these issues with Wikimedians and other people interested in changing the law to better promote collaboration for free knowledge.\n\nThe Wikimedia public policy list is an open venue for Wikimedians to discuss public policy developments around the world that are important for the Wikimedia mission.\n\nGet in touch!\n\nIf you are organizing a policy action that is within one of our five policy areas, please contact us at policy@wikimedia.org.", "olicy list\n\nJoin the Wikimedia public policy list to discuss these issues with Wikimedians and other people interested in changing the law to better promote collaboration for free knowledge.\n\nThe Wikimedia public policy list is an open venue for Wikimedians to discuss public policy developments around the world that are important for the Wikimedia mission.\n\nGet in touch!\n\nIf you are organizing a policy action that is within one of our five policy areas, please contact us at policy@wikimedia.org.", "olicy list\n\nJoin the Wikimedia public policy list to discuss these issues with Wikimedians and other people interested in changing the law to better promote collaboration for free knowledge.\n\nThe Wikimedia public policy list is an open venue for Wikimedians to discuss public policy developments around the world that are important for the Wikimedia mission.\n\nGet in touch!\n\nIf you are organizing a policy action that is within one of our five policy areas, please contact us at policy@wikimedia.org.", "olicy list\n\nJoin the Wikimedia public policy list to discuss these issues with Wikimedians and other people interested in changing the law to better promote collaboration for free knowledge.\n\nThe Wikimedia public policy list is an open venue for Wikimedians to discuss public policy developments around the world that are important for the Wikimedia mission.\n\nGet in touch!\n\nIf you are organizing a policy action that is within one of our five policy areas, please contact us at policy@wikimedia.org.", "olicy list\n\nJoin the Wikimedia public policy list to discuss these issues with Wikimedians and other people interested in changing the law to better promote collaboration for free knowledge.\n\nThe Wikimedia public policy list is an open venue for Wikimedians to discuss public policy developments around the world that are important for the Wikimedia mission.\n\nGet in touch!\n\nIf you are organizing a policy action that is within one of our five policy areas, please contact us at policy@wikimedia.org.", "olicy list\n\nJoin the Wikimedia public policy list to discuss these issues with Wikimedians and other people interested in changing the law to better promote collaboration for free knowledge.\n\nThe Wikimedia public policy list is an open venue for Wikimedians to discuss public policy developments around the world that are important for the Wikimedia mission.\n\nGet in touch!\n\nIf you are organizing a policy action that is within one of our five policy areas, please contact us at policy@wikimedia.org."]}