Not to be confused with Demand Progress Action (PAC)

Demand Progress Action (DPA) is a left-of-center organization that advocates for policies relating to foreign policy and civil liberties.¹ It was formerly “a fiscally-sponsored project of Sixteen Thirty Fund,” a left-of-center 501(c)(4) funder and advocacy organization, but it operates as an IRS-registered 501(c)(4) nonprofit. ² DPA became its own entity in 2022 when it separated from Sixteen Thirty Fund, which is itself managed by Arabella Advisors, a network The Atlantic has described as the “mothership” of a “massive progressive dark-money group.” ^{3 4}

Demand Progress Education Fund is DPA’s sister 501(c)(3) educational arm. ⁵

Background

Demand Progress rose to prominence in 2010 as part of the coalition which defeated the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), a controversial intellectual property proposal. Demand Progress began as a petition campaign within Sixteen Thirty Fund. ⁶

After SOPA, Demand Progress helped lead efforts to successfully block online surveillance bills, including the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA). However, one of the group’s founders, Aaron Swartz, was prosecuted under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) for allegedly downloading too many academic articles from the JSTOR cataloguing service. Swartz committed suicide in 2013. ⁷

Demand Progress went on to co-lead efforts to advocate that the Obama administration Federal Communications Commission institute net neutrality rules in 2014-2015. This propelled DPA into a broader line of work, criticizing corporate influence in the American economy and promoting left-of-center perspectives on American governance structures. ⁷

Initiatives

Demand Progress Action (DPA) has six main initiatives that it tracks and for which it advocates. ⁷

Internet Freedom and Net Neutrality

Demand Progress Action (DPA) campaigns for “net neutrality,”⁶  a Google-backed policy that would regulate internet service providers.⁸ According to its website, members of the organization took millions of undefined “actions” in support of the Obama administration Federal Communications Commission‘s net neutrality regulations. ⁶ The organization claims that the last event it helped to organize in support of net neutrality occurred in 2014 in the “Internet Slowdown Day,” an attempt by supporters of net neutrality to create heavy traffic on popular websites to slow them down for most users.⁹

The regulations were repealed by the FCC during the first Trump administration. ¹⁰

DPA is a self-proclaimed “ally”¹¹ of Free Press, a pro-net neutrality and anti-business media advocacy organization.¹²

On its website, DPA advocates for net neutrality and has continued what it considers “the fight against Big Cable for strong net neutrality protections.” The group founded Battle for the Net, the central hub for pro-net neutrality organizing. ¹³

DPA also fights for government subsidies to internet access. In 2023, it signed a coalition open letter on behalf of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights to several U.S. Congressional committee chairs asking them to increase funding for the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). ACP was an FCC project created in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic that provided federal subsidies for internet connectivity to impoverished households. ACP ended on June 1, 2024. ^{14 15}

Surveillance

Demand Progress Action (DPA) opposes warrantless mass surveillance and efforts to undermine internet data encryption. DPA launched the Fourth Amendment Advisory Committee, a coalition that supports the work of the Fourth Amendment Caucus and seeks to educate policymakers on privacy rights in America. ^{16 17}

In support of this initiative, DPA signed a coalition letter in May 2024 urging Congress to rein in the Transportation Security Administration’s use of facial recognition. ¹⁸

In February 2025, DPA signed a letter urging the Senate to amend the TAKE IT DOWN Act to help victims of the nonconsensual disclosure of intimate imagery (NDII) and protect users’ privacy and free expression rights. ^{19 20}

In March 2025, Demand Progress Action signed a letter to FBI Director Kash Patel, joining 22 other groups in asking Director Patel for a meeting to discuss government surveillance and privacy reform under the Trump administration. The letter highlighted several policy changes DPA and its allies sought, including changes to “domestic violent extremist labels,” FISA warrant application processes, declassification of documents, and expanded Congressional oversight of the agency. ²¹

Corporate Power

Demand Progress Action (DPA) opposes what it considers the excessive influence of corporate power within politics, particularly as it relates to regulatory capture of government agencies. DPA has founded Freedom from Facebook and Google, a coalition to persuade federal regulators and Congress to break up technology conglomerates and regulate them. DPA has also founded the Athena Coalition, a group that seeks greater regulation and oversight of Amazon. ²²

In pursuit of its anti-corporation initiative, DPA has signed several letters related to artificial intelligence (AI). In June 2025, DPA joined more than 140 other organizations in a letter asking Senate leaders to reject a proposal to block enforcement of all state and local AI laws. The letter warned that the proposed AI moratorium was an attempt to preempt “preempting state and local efforts to make AI safer” which “removes accountability for a still-in-development technology.” ²³

In November 2022, DPA released a deep-fake video of Mark Zuckerberg thanking Democrats in Congress for their inaction on antitrust to draw attention to what DPA claimed was a Meta technology monopoly. ²⁴

Anti-Militarism

Demand Progress Action has an anti-militarism campaign that opposes what it calls “police militarization, institutionalized racism…Islamophobia” and “endless wars.” The group advocates a non-interventionist foreign policy. ²⁵

In April 2024, DPA signed a letter calling on Congress to end unconditioned military assistance to Israel. The letter accused Israel of violating international law and human rights in its prosecution of the Israel-Hamas war that followed the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel. The coalition drafted the letter in response to an emergency bill that appropriated $14.1 billion in military assistance to Israel without attaching human rights and civilian protection conditions. ²⁶

In June 2025, DPA joined more than 40 organizations in a letter to the Senate, urging policymakers to block arms sales to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) over its involvement in the Sudanese Civil War. ²⁷

Democracy Reform

Demand Progress Action advocates for governmental reforms, mostly by opposing the election, nomination, or passage of legislators, judges, and laws. ²⁸

In May 2020, DPA urged policymakers to oppose the HEROES Act, a piece of COVID-19 legislation that DPA claimed bailed out landlords, businesses, and debt collectors. ²⁹

In 2022, DPA partnered with the Lincoln Network to produce a report calling on the 118th Congress to change the rules of the U.S. House of Representatives. Among the several rule changes, some of the most prominent included the creation of a Select Subcommittee on House Modernization and an Office of the Whistleblower Ombuds and increasing public access to Congressional records, such as “dear colleague” letters and National Archives documents. ³⁰

In April 2025, DPA joined other groups in warning D.C. Courts about the ethics complaints submitted against Edward R. Martin, Jr., the interim U.S. attorney for D.C. DPA opposed Martin’s nomination over his support of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and Elon Musk. ³¹

Financial Regulation

Demand Progress Action supports greater regulation of the financial sector. DPA founded the Agency Spotlight to track appointments to leadership positions at 39 federal agencies. Agency Spotlight monitors three prominent financial agencies the most: the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). ³²

In January 2021, DPA signed a letter addressed to then-President Joe Biden requesting more in-depth financial disclosure details for his nominees and appointees. ³²

Leadership

Computer programmer Aaron Swartz and Rhode Island Democratic politician David Segal are listed as the co-founders of Demand Progress Action. ³³

Swartz was arrested at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 2011. Federal prosecutors alleged that Swartz broke into a computer closet and used the school’s networks to steal more than 4,000,000 articles and documents from JSTOR, a not-for-profit digital library of books and scholarly journals. His alleged crimes were punishable by up to 35 years in prison.³⁴ Swartz killed himself in January 2013 while awaiting trial.³⁵

Demand Progress Action holds that the arrest and prosecution of Swartz was unjust and campaigns for the repeal of the law under which he was prosecuted.⁶

Funding

In 2023, Demand Progress Action (DPA) reported $1,003,217 in total revenue, $1,664,534 in total expenses, and $1,740,163 in total expenses. ³⁶

Until 2022, DPA was a fiscally sponsored project of Sixteen Thirty Fund, a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization.” ⁷ The Sixteen Thirty Fund is a major left-of-center funding and fiscal sponsorship nonprofit. ³⁷

In 2022, Demand Progress Action reported $2,774,031 in total revenue, $839,091 in total expenses, and $2,751,984 in total assets. ³⁸ On its website, DPA lists several noteworthy donors from 2022, including the Omidyar Network, which gave $445,000; Democracy Fund Voice, which gave $250,000; Way to Win, which gave $250,000; Open Society Policy Center, which gave $240,000; and Voqal, which gave $60,000. ⁷

In 2021, DPA’s budget decreased, as it reported $153,211 in total revenue, $76,868 in total expenses, and just $130,671 in total assets. ³⁹ Despite boasting a lower budget that year, DPA highlighted several key 2021 donors, including Democracy Fund Voice which gave $250,000; the Omidyar Network which gave $250,000; Way to Win which gave $250,000; Open Society Policy Center which gave $150,000; Voqal which gave $100,000; and the Athena Coalition which gave $21,000. ⁷

In 2020, DPA brought in nearly no money, reporting on its tax returns only $3,739 in total revenue, $407 on total expenses, and $54,328 in total assets. ⁴⁰ Still, on its website, DPA claims the following donors and donation amounts for the 2020 year, including Open Society Policy Center, which gave a total of $450,000; Way to Win, which gave $250,000; National Popular Vote, which gave $125,000; Economic Security Project Action, which gave $75,000; Megan Hull, who gave $30,000; and the Movement Voter Project, which gave $10,000. ⁷

Similarly in 2019, DPA reported just $6,887 in total revenue, $2,971 in total expenses, and $50,996 in total assets. ⁴¹ 2018 saw a slight increase in budget, as DPA reported $61,724 in total revenue, $55,820 in total expenses, and $47,080 in total assets. ⁴²

1. Demand Progress. “Major Progressive Groups Call for Resolution to End US Involvement in Yemen.” Common Dreams. September 26, 2018. Accessed February 01, 2019. https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2018/09/26/major-progressive-groups-call-resolution-end-us-involvement-yemen.
2. “About Demand Progress.” Demand Progress. Accessed February 01, 2019. https://demandprogress.org/about/.
3. ^[1] “About.” Demand Progress. Accessed July 7, 2025. https://demandprogress.org/about/
4. Green, Emma. “The Massive Progressive Dark-Money Group You’ve Never Heard Of.” The Atlantic. November 2, 2021. Accessed July 7, 2025. https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2021/11/arabella-advisors-money-democrats/620553/
5. “Home.” Demand Progress Education Fund. Accessed July 7, 2025. https://demandprogresseducationfund.org/#/
6. “About Demand Progress.” Demand Progress. Accessed January 23, 2019. https://demandprogress.org/about/
7. “About.” Demand Progress. Accessed July 7, 2025. https://demandprogress.org/about/
8. Lucas, Fred. “Net Neutrality: Strangling the Information Highway with Red Tape.” Capital Research Center. January 1, 2010. Accessed February 01, 2019. https://capitalresearch.org/article/net-neutrality-strangling-the-information-highway-with-red-tape/.
9. Newcomb, Alyssa. “Internet Slowdown Day: Why Your Favorite Sites Have the ‘Spinning Wheel of Death’.” ABC News. September 10, 2014. Accessed January 23, 2019. https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/internet-slowdown-day-favorite-sites-spinning-wheel-death/story?id=25403426.
10. Downey, Caroline. “Keep Calm & Celebrate the End of Net Neutrality.” Capital Research Center. June 26, 2018. Accessed February 01, 2019. https://capitalresearch.org/article/keep-calm-celebrate-the-end-of-net-neutrality/.
11. “Press Release.” Demand Progress. July 12, 2017. Accessed January 23, 2019. https://demandprogress.org/demand-progress-statement-on-tomorrows-net-neutrality-day-of-action/.
12. “About.” Free Press. Accessed January 23, 2019. https://www.freepress.net/about.
13. “Internet Freedom.” Demand Progress. Accessed July 7, 2025. https://demandprogress.org/issues/internet-freedom/
14. “Coalition_Letter_in_Support_of_the_Affordable_Connectivity_Program.” The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. May 10, 2023. Accessed July 7, 2025. https://s3.amazonaws.com/demandprogress/letters/Coalition_Letter_in_Support_of_the_Affordable_Connectivity_Program.pdf
15. Figliola, Patricia Moloney. “The End of the Affordable Connectivity Program: Options for Consumers and Congress.” Congress.gov. May 13, 2o25. Accessed July 7, 2025. https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/IF12637#
16. ^[1] “Surveillance.” Demand Progress. Accessed July 7, 2025. https://demandprogress.org/issues/surveillance/
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18. “TSA use of Facial Recognition_Sign on letter_20240502.” Demand Progress. May 2, 2024. Accessed July 7, 2025. https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/demandprogress/images/TSA_use_of_Facial_Recognition_Sign_on_letter_20240502.pdf
19. “TAKE IT DOWN Sign On Letter_Final.” Demand Progress. February 12, 2025. Accessed July 7, 2025. https://demandprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/TAKE-IT-DOWN-Sign-On-Letter_21225.pdf
20. Branum, Becca and Bowman, Tom. “CDT and Civil Society Partners Urge Changes to the TAKE IT DOWN Act to Protect Users’ Rights.” Center for Democracy and Technology. February 12, 2025. Accessed July 7, 2025. https://cdt.org/insights/cdt-and-civil-society-partners-urge-changes-to-the-take-it-down-act-to-protect-users-rights/
21. “Patel-letter-PR-2025-03-21.pdf.” Demand Progress. March 21, 2025. Accessed July 7, 2025. https://demandprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Patel-letter-PR-2025-03-21.pdf
22. “Corporate Power.” Demand Progress. Accessed July 7, 2025. https://demandprogress.org/issues/corporate-power/
23. “Letter: Senate AI Moratorium Worse than House Version.” Demand Progress. June 25, 2025. Accessed July 7, 2025. https://demandprogress.org/letter-senate-ai-moratorium-worse-than-house-version/
24. Barr, Kyle. “Deep Fake Zuckerberg Thanks Democrats for Their Service and Inaction on Antitrust.” Gizmodo. November 29, 2022. Accessed July 7, 2025. https://gizmodo.com/deep-fake-zuckerberg-meta-antitrust-big-tech-1849830665
25. “Anti-Militarism.” Demand Progress. Accessed July 7, 2025. https://demandprogress.org/issues/anti-militarism/
26. “Joint Statement – Civil Society Groups Call On US Government to Block Unconditioned Military Assistance to Israel.” Human Rights Watch. April 26, 2024. Accessed July 7, 2025. https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/04/26/joint-statement-civil-society-groups-call-us-government-block-unconditioned
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29.  “Demand Progress Urges Opposition to HEROES Act.” Demand Progress. May 13, 2020. Accessed July 7, 2025. https://demandprogress.org/demand-progress-urges-opposition-heroes-act-2/
30. Graves, Zach and Schuman, Daniel.“Bipartisan Recommendations to Reform the House Rules.” Demand Progress. 2022. Accessed July 7, 2025. https://s3.amazonaws.com/demandprogress/reports/Bipartisan_House_Rules_Recommendations_118th_Congress.pdf
31. “D.C. Courts Warned About Ed Martin Ethics Complaints.” Demand Progress. April 3, 2025. Accessed July 7, 2025. https://demandprogress.org/d-c-courts-warned-about-ed-martin-ethics-complaints/
32. “Financial Reform.” Demand Progress. Accessed July 7, 2025. https://demandprogress.org/issues/financial-reform/
33. “About.” Demand Progress, October 2, 2024. https://demandprogress.org/about/.
34. Schwartz, John. “Open-Access Advocate Arrested for Huge Download.” The New York Times. July 19, 2011. Accessed February 01, 2019. https://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/20/us/20compute.html?ref=us.
35. Sam Gustin. “Aaron Swartz, Tech Prodigy and Internet Activist, Is Dead at 26.” Time. January 13, 2013. Accessed January 23, 2019. http://business.time.com/2013/01/13/tech-prodigy-and-internet-activist-aaron-swartz-commits-suicide/
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