Index on Censorship

Free Expression Advocacy and Publishingindexoncensorship.org

Index on Censorship is a UK-registered charity founded in 1972 that defends freedom of expression globally through a quarterly magazine, weekly newsletter, advocacy campaigns, and the Freedom of Expression Awards, serving journalists, writers, artists, and dissidents facing censorship.

Company typePrivate
Founded1972
HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
Headcount11–50
GTM typeB2C
OfferingServices

What Index on Censorship does

Index on Censorship is a UK registered charity (Writers & Scholars Educational Trust, charity No. 325003) founded in 1972 and headquartered in London, operating as an international advocacy organization defending freedom of expression. The organization publishes a quarterly magazine (currently Volume 55, issue 1, Spring 2026) and a weekly email newsletter via Mailchimp, and runs multiple advocacy campaigns including Banned Books Week UK, Anti-SLAPP, Stop Killing the Internet, Banned By Beijing, and Letters from Lukashenko's Prisoners. It also operates the annual Freedom of Expression Awards across journalism, arts, campaigning, and trustees categories, and runs the Tim Hetherington Fellowship for journalists at risk.

The organization does not develop proprietary technology; its core tooling is editorial content, journalism, public advocacy, and coalition-based campaigns. Supporting infrastructure consists of Mailchimp for newsletter distribution, Eventbrite for event ticketing, PayPal for donation processing, and Google Analytics for website analytics. Distribution is entirely digital via the website, email, and social media channels (Facebook, X, Instagram), with no proprietary platform, mobile app, or API offering.

Index is funded through four revenue streams: individual donations (structured as £10 or £20 monthly or one-off gifts via the People's Fundraising platform), magazine and newsletter subscriptions, institutional grants from trusts and foundations (Arts Council England, Open Society Foundations, Sigrid Rausing Trust, Fritt Ord Foundation, Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust, Joffe Charitable Trust, Ben Delo Foundation), and corporate partnerships (Google, Meta). The organization is governed by an independent board of trustees chaired by Sir Trevor Phillips OBE, with CEO Jemimah Steinfeld leading operations, and is supported by a related entity, Writers & Scholars International Ltd (company No. 01157814). Beneficiaries and stakeholders include journalists, writers, artists, whistleblowers, and dissidents facing censorship worldwide.

Index on Censorship firmographics

Firmographics

Name: Index on Censorship
Legal name: Writers & Scholars Educational Trust
Website: https://indexoncensorship.org
Company type: Private
Founded year: 1972
Operating status: Operating
Headcount range: 11–50 employees
Short description: Index on Censorship is a UK-registered charity founded in 1972 that defends freedom of expression globally through a quarterly magazine, weekly newsletter, advocacy campaigns, and the Freedom of Expression Awards, serving journalists, writers, artists, and dissidents facing censorship.
Ownership category
akta.pro rank

Index on Censorship industry classification

Industry

Product category: Free Expression Advocacy and Publishing
NAICS: Periodical Publishers (51312), Human Rights Organizations (813311)
SIC: Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)
akta.pro primary industry: Digital Rights, Privacy & Free Expression Advocacy (BPAGAFAL)
akta.pro secondary industries: Investigative & Nonprofit News Organizations (MPAJADAF), Scholarly Society & Association Publishing (EDAGAFAK)

Keywords

Free expression advocacy
Press freedom campaigns
Censorship monitoring
Human rights nonprofit
Media freedom defense

Where Index on Censorship is headquartered

Location

Headquarters

HQ city: London
HQ country: United Kingdom
HQ region: Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

Index on Censorship business model

Business model

GTM type: B2C
Offering type: Services
Cost components: Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

Individual Donations: Index on Censorship relies on individual donors and supporters to fund its work. The organization runs donation campaigns on its website and through People's Fundraising platform.
Newsletter Subscriptions: Weekly newsletter, monthly events email, and periodic fundraising appeals sent to subscribers. The organization uses Mailchimp for email marketing.
Magazine Subscriptions and Sales: Published quarterly magazine covering free expression issues globally, available by subscription.
Institutional Funding: Funding from trusts, foundations, and corporate partners including Arts Council England, Open Society Foundations, Sigrid Rausing Trust, Google, Meta, and others.

Pricing tiers

Model	Billing	Price
Subscription	Monthly	Monthly donation - £10
Subscription	Monthly	Monthly donation - £20
One time/ perpetual license	Pay-as-you-go	One-off donation - £10
One time/ perpetual license	Pay-as-you-go	One-off donation - £20

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Index on Censorship product offering

Product offering

Core offering

Index on Censorship is a nonprofit advocacy organization that defends and promotes freedom of expression worldwide. It publishes a quarterly Index on Censorship magazine covering censorship, press freedom, and digital rights; distributes a weekly email newsletter; runs annual Freedom of Expression Awards; and operates named advocacy campaigns (Banned Books Week UK, Anti-SLAPP, Stop Killing the Internet, Banned By Beijing, Letters from Lukashenko's Prisoners, Uncensored Gallery) plus the Tim Hetherington Fellowship for journalists at risk. The organization is funded by individual donations, magazine and newsletter subscriptions, and grants from trusts, foundations, and corporate partners.

Product overview

Index on Censorship is a nonprofit organization defending free expression, operating as a publication and advocacy organization rather than a commercial product company. The organization publishes a quarterly magazine covering global free expression issues, distributes a weekly newsletter, runs annual Freedom of Expression Awards, and manages multiple campaigns including Banned Books Week UK, the Stop Killing the Internet digital rights campaign, Anti-SLAPP advocacy, and initiatives highlighting political prisoners in Belarus and artistic censorship in China. Additional programs include the Tim Hetherington Fellowship for journalists at risk and an uncensored artist gallery.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

Index on Censorship Magazine A print and digital quarterly publication covering censorship, press freedom, digital rights, and profiles of censored writers and artists, available by subscription.
Weekly Newsletter Weekly email newsletter distributed via Mailchimp providing updates on censorship cases, press freedom issues, campaign developments, and global free expression news.
Freedom of Expression Awards Annual awards program with categories for journalism, arts, campaigning, and trustees award, recognizing individuals and organizations that demonstrate extraordinary courage in defending free expression; coordinated with an annual awards ceremony.
Tim Hetherington Fellowship Fellowship program honoring the memory of journalist Tim Hetherington, supporting emerging journalists and writers at risk.
Banned Books Week UK Annual campaign raising awareness about book censorship in the UK and defending the right to read and publish freely.
Anti-SLAPP Campaign Campaign against Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation, co-chaired through the UK Anti-SLAPP Coalition, advocating for legislative protections for journalists, whistleblowers, and campaigners.

Companies that use Index on Censorship

Customer profile

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Index on Censorship technology and API

Technology

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API: No
API docs
API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Index on Censorship partnerships and signals

Strategic signal

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core.

UK Anti-SLAPP CoalitioncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 June 2026Index on Censorship co-chairs the UK Anti-SLAPP Coalition, which campaigns against Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation. The coalition achieved success when parallel Private Members' Bills were introduced in both the House of Lords and House of Commons in June 2026.
Open Rights GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 June 2026Partnership in the Stop Killing the Internet campaign, launched to oppose UK government policies on children's online safety that critics say could enable mass surveillance.
Big Brother WatchcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 June 2026Partnership in the Stop Killing the Internet campaign, sister campaign to Stop Killing Games, opposing government policies on children's online safety.
Council of Europe Platform on the Safety of JournalistscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 March 2026Index is a partner organization in the Council of Europe Platform, conducting fact-finding missions on media freedom in countries including Kosovo and Serbia.
European Centre for Press and Media FreedomcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Council of Europe fact-finding missions on media freedom.
European Federation of JournalistscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Council of Europe fact-finding missions on media freedom.
Reporters Without BorderscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Council of Europe fact-finding missions on media freedom.
International Press InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Council of Europe fact-finding missions on media freedom.
Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndex participates in MFRR missions, including to Serbia, to monitor and report on media freedom violations.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Index on Censorship competitors and assessment

Company assessment

Direct peers

ARTICLE 19: London-based international freedom of expression NGO. Directly comparable as a UK-headquartered civil society organization running global campaigns, legal interventions and reports on censorship, with comparable mission, donor base and advocacy model to Index on Censorship.
Committee to Protect Journalists: US-based press freedom NGO that documents attacks on journalists, runs advocacy campaigns and publishes annual reports. Directly comparable to Index's journalism-category Freedom of Expression Awards and journalism support work.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF): Paris-based international press freedom NGO publishing the World Press Freedom Index and running global advocacy. Directly comparable mission on free expression and listed as an Index partner on Council of Europe fact-finding missions.
PEN International: London-headquartered literary free expression organization running the Writers in Prison Committee. Directly comparable as a UK-registered free expression charity defending persecuted writers, with overlapping grants base and SLAPP advocacy interest.
Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF): US-based digital civil liberties organization focused on free expression online, surveillance, and platform accountability. Directly comparable to Index's Digital Rights / Stop Killing the Internet campaign and SLAPP work.
Freedom House: Washington DC-based NGO publishing Freedom in the World and Freedom on the Net reports. Comparable as a research-driven advocacy organization measuring global freedom of expression and press conditions.
Open Rights Group: UK-based digital rights and free expression organization named partner on Index's Stop Killing the Internet campaign. Directly comparable as a small UK-registered NGO with overlapping digital-rights campaign and donor base.
Big Brother Watch: UK-based civil liberties NGO focused on surveillance, privacy and free expression. Directly comparable as a UK partner on the Stop Killing the Internet coalition and as a peer free-expression advocacy body.
IFEX: Toronto-based global network of free expression and press freedom organizations. Comparable as a membership/network body amplifying free-expression content and advocacy across multiple countries.

Regional players

Index on Censorship local chapters equivalents (e.g., Canadian Journalists for Free Expression): Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE) operates a parallel free-expression publication and awards model in Canada. Comparable mission but serves North America specifically rather than competing with Index's global footprint.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Index on Censorship financial estimates

Financial estimate

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Index on Censorship leadership team

Management profile

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Index on Censorship subsidiaries and ownership

Company hierarchy

Subsidiaries1 record

Index on Censorship funding detail

Funding detail

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Index on Censorship M&A and investment

M&A and investment

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Index on Censorship

What does Index on Censorship do?

Is Index on Censorship a public or private company?

Index on Censorship is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.

When was Index on Censorship founded?

Index on Censorship was founded in 1972. It employs 11 to 50 people.

Where is Index on Censorship based?

Index on Censorship is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.

How does Index on Censorship make money?

Four revenue lines are on record. Individual Donations are the primary driver. The others are newsletter Subscriptions, magazine Subscriptions and Sales and institutional Funding.

Who are Index on Censorship's main competitors?

Direct peers on record are ARTICLE 19, Committee to Protect Journalists, Reporters Without Borders (RSF), PEN International, Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), Freedom House, Open Rights Group, Big Brother Watch and IFEX. Index on Censorship local chapters equivalents (e.g., Canadian Journalists for Free Expression) is listed as a regional player.

Does Index on Censorship have an API?

No public API is recorded for Index on Censorship.

What industry is Index on Censorship in?

Index on Censorship's product category is Free Expression Advocacy and Publishing. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGAFAL, Digital Rights, Privacy & Free Expression Advocacy, with a secondary code of MPAJADAF, Investigative & Nonprofit News Organizations. Its NAICS code is 51312 and its SIC code is 2721.