RightsCon Organizers Take Stock of What's Next After Zambia

Audio of this conversation is available via your favorite podcast service.

As many in the Tech Policy Press community are no doubt already aware, the biggest event on the calendar each year for digital and human rights defenders is RightsCon, organized by Access Now, a nonprofit that for more than a decade has convened the global community working at the intersection of technology and human rights. But this year, RightsCon did not happen.

Just days before it was set to begin, the gathering was effectively canceled after the Zambian government demanded "full alignment with national values" — a development that, as Article 19’s Michael Caster argued in these pages, cannot be understood apart from the expanding reach of Chinese authoritarian influence into the spaces where civil society gathers.

I heard from many folks across the community about the loss of this year’s event, and what the events that forced its cancellation mean for the field. For instance Luisa Ortiz Pérez, executive director of Vita-Activa.org, wrote:

The cancellation of RightsCon26 in Zambia, and the authoritarian pressure behind it, adds a new layer to the moral injury many of us in digital and human rights spaces are already carrying. In the end, the damage is deeply human. When political pressure determines whether people can gather, it doesn't just limit movement—it reshapes how we think, how we make decisions, and how we relate to one another. It isolates us, creates distance, and fuels tension, all while shrinking the already fragile space for civil society.

And E-Ling Chiu, the national director of Amnesty International Taiwan, commented on what the cancellation means for Taiwan's civil society and the broader stakes of inclusion. She told me:

For Taiwan's civil society, being suppressed by China at international conferences or excluded from the United Nations system is nothing new, but this must never be normalized. This is not just Taiwan's problem—it is a challenge facing global civil society as a whole. As transnational repression expands and authoritarianism affects everyone, Taiwan's participation matters. As a technology-driven society with a vibrant tech community deeply engaged in public affairs, Taiwan has valuable experience to share, making its inclusion in global digital rights discussions critically important to the international community.

To learn more about what transpired and what’s next, spoke to the head of Access Now, Alejandro Mayoral Baños, and the director of RightsCon, Nikki Gladstone, about their experience, why this moment matters, and what's next for the community they convene.

RightsCon is running a survey about the impact to the community through May 13.

A transcript of this discussion is forthcoming.