diff --git a/requirements.txt b/requirements.txt
index 106a6be..7fcda8c 100644
--- a/requirements.txt
+++ b/requirements.txt
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ httpx==0.28.1
 structlog==26.1.0  # direct dep — imported by settings.py and core/middleware.py
 django-structlog==9.0.0  # structured JSON logging (Phase D)
 python-json-logger==4.1.0  # JSON formatter for structlog
-opentelemetry-api==1.32.1  # OTEL traces for uFawkesObs
+opentelemetry-api==1.44.0  # OTEL traces for uFawkesObs
 opentelemetry-sdk==1.32.1
 opentelemetry-exporter-otlp==1.32.1
 cryptography==49.0.0  # Fix GHSA-537c-gmf6-5ccf