RightsCon

RightsCon
Name	RightsCon
Status	Active
Genre	Human rights conference
Frequency	Annual
First	2011
Organiser	Access Now
Location	Varies (global)
Participants	Civil society, tech industry, policymakers, academics

RightsCon

RightsCon is an annual summit convening digital rights activists, technology companies, policymakers, and civil society actors to debate human rights implications of information and communication technologies. Founded in 2011, the summit has been hosted in multiple cities including San Francisco, Brussels, Toronto, Madrid, and Cairo, drawing delegates from institutions such as United Nations, European Commission, African Union, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and Electronic Frontier Foundation. The event functions as a nexus for dialogues between representatives from Google, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Apple Inc., Twitter, Amazon (company), and a wide range of grassroots organizations.

Overview

RightsCon gathers stakeholders from networks including Internet Society, Mozilla Foundation, IEEE, World Wide Web Consortium, Council of Europe, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Open Technology Fund, Center for Democracy & Technology, Digital Rights Watch, Privacy International, Global Network Initiative, Freedom House, Reporters Without Borders, Article 19, NetBlocks, Access Now, Public Knowledge, Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society, Oxford Internet Institute, Stanford Center for Internet and Society, Columbia University, Harvard Kennedy School, Yale Law School, London School of Economics, University of California, Berkeley, University of Toronto, University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, New York University, George Washington University, Kunstmuseum Bern, UNESCO, World Health Organization, and International Telecommunication Union. Panels and workshops address interactions among platforms, regulators, and rights defenders, attracting actors from Bloomberg Philanthropies, Open Society Foundations, Ford Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, and Google.org.

History

The conference originated amid parallel movements including Arab Spring, WikiLeaks, Occupy Wall Street, and debates following Edward Snowden disclosures, responding to issues raised by actors such as Alec Ross, Shoshana Zuboff, Lawrence Lessig, Julian Assange, and Glenn Greenwald. Early iterations in San Francisco hosted sessions featuring representatives from Electronic Frontier Foundation, ACLU, EFF, Mozilla Foundation, Twitter, and Facebook as the landscape of platform governance evolved alongside milestones like the European Union–United States Privacy Shield negotiations, the passage of laws such as General Data Protection Regulation, and rulings by courts including the European Court of Human Rights. Subsequent conferences were held in regions affected by events such as the Arab Spring, the Syrian Civil War, and the Ukrainian crisis, bringing together delegations from Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, CIVICUS, Front Line Defenders, and regional bodies like Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development.

Organization and Structure

The summit is organized by Access Now with programmatic input from advisory boards including members from Open Society Foundations, Ford Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, Mozilla Foundation, Center for Democracy & Technology, Global Network Initiative, Internet Society, and leading universities such as Harvard University, Stanford University, and Oxford University. The organizational model combines plenary sessions, thematic tracks, workshops, and labs featuring speakers from United Nations Human Rights Council, European Parliament, House of Commons of the United Kingdom, United States Congress, Canadian Parliament, Mexican Congress, Brazilian Chamber of Deputies, African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, Inter-Parliamentary Union, International Criminal Court, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and private sector delegates from Cisco Systems, Oracle Corporation, SAP SE, Salesforce, and Nokia. Governance includes a steering committee with representatives from regional coalitions like Arab Network for Human Rights Information, Africa Freedom of Information Centre, Latin American and Caribbean Network for Democracy, and Asia Internet Coalition.

Themes and Agenda

Each year’s agenda aligns with contemporary crises and policy developments, covering topics that intersect with cases such as Cambridge Analytica scandal, Huawei controversies, TikTok disputes, and legal frameworks like Digital Services Act, Network Enforcement Act, California Consumer Privacy Act, and Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data Act. Thematic tracks have addressed surveillance practices tied to suppliers like Hikvision, debates over encryption involving entities such as WhatsApp, and content moderation policies referencing actions by YouTube, Reddit, Discord, and Pinterest. Sessions often examine responses to disinformation campaigns linked to events like 2016 United States presidential election, Brexit referendum, Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections, and public health crises including COVID-19 pandemic.

Notable Sessions and Outcomes

Notable sessions have convened speakers from United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and Expression, European Data Protection Supervisor, UK Information Commissioner's Office, US Federal Trade Commission, Federal Communications Commission, National Telecommunications and Information Administration, Data Protection Commissioner of Ireland, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and corporate privacy officers from Apple Inc., Google, Meta Platforms, and Microsoft. Outcomes include coalition-building leading to policy contributions to the General Data Protection Regulation implementation dialogues, inputs to the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights uptake, and advocacy campaigns influencing legislation such as the Digital Services Act and enforcement actions by the European Commission and Federal Trade Commission.

Criticism and Controversies

The summit has faced criticism from activists and journalists associated with The Guardian, The New York Times, Washington Post, BuzzFeed News, ProPublica, VICE News, Al Jazeera, and BBC News over perceived corporate influence, panel selection practices involving Google, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, and Amazon (company), and decisions about hosting cities tied to local policies in places like San Francisco, Toronto, Brussels, and Cairo. Debates have involved civil society groups such as Privacy International, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Access Now, Global Voices, Human Rights Watch, and Amnesty International over transparency, inclusion of dissenting voices including representatives from Palestine Liberation Organization, Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy, and trade associations like Information Technology Industry Council.

Impact and Influence on Policy

Through convenings that included delegations from United Nations, European Commission, Council of Europe, Organization of American States, African Union, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, G20, OECD, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and national regulators like the US Department of Justice, UK Home Office, Canadian Heritage, Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Brazilian Ministério da Justiça, the summit has shaped advocacy strategies, informed policy papers by think tanks such as Brookings Institution, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Chatham House, RAND Corporation, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Atlantic Council, German Marshall Fund, Bertelsmann Stiftung, and contributed to multistakeholder processes that influenced legislative texts and regulatory guidance issued by entities including the European Commission and national data protection authorities.

Category:Technology conferences