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Access Now canceled RightsCon 2026 in Zambia and halted online activities after last‑minute pressures—reportedly linked to Chinese government concerns over Taiwan—led Zambian authorities to seek participant exclusions and content moderation. The decision, affecting some 3,700 expected attendees from 150+ countries, followed a multi‑year host vetting process and a commitment to bring the summit back to Africa. Organizers cited credible foreign interference that threatened safety, open participation, and the conference’s independence. The episode spotlights rising geopolitical risks to global tech and digital‑rights convenings, complicating venue selection, civil‑society engagement, and the ability to hold open, cross‑border discussions on surveillance, censorship and disinformation.
RightsCon is a major forum for digital rights advocacy and its cancellation in Zambia signals geopolitical pressures can disrupt civil society convenings, affecting collaboration and policy discourse. Tech professionals should watch how state influence and safety concerns shape event planning, cross-border research, and advocacy strategies.
Dossier last updated: 2026-05-10 04:55:40
RightsCon 2026, organized by Access Now, has been canceled in Zambia and halted online after the group cited credible concerns of foreign interference affecting safety and the integrity of the conference. The event—expected to host ~2,600 in-person and 1,100 online participants from 150+ countries—was selected after a multi-year host vetting process emphasizing infrastructure, visas, security, and cooperative local stakeholders. Access Now says growing risks tied to outside actors undermined those assurances, forcing a last-minute decision that deeply disappointed regional partners and participants. The cancellation underscores rising geopolitical threats to global tech and digital-rights convenings, complicating civil-society engagement, secure collaboration, and event planning in contested environments.
RightsCon and organizer Access Now canceled the 2026 in-person summit planned for Zambia after Zambian authorities, reportedly under pressure tied to China-Taiwan sensitivities, proposed conditions that would limit participation and require moderating specific topics. Access Now said officials demanded excluding Taiwanese attendees and restricting communities at risk — terms they called unacceptable and contrary to the conference’s mission to protect digital rights. The decision highlights geopolitical influence over global tech and human-rights events, risks to open participation in international forums, and the challenge of hosting sensitive convenings in jurisdictions where state actors can impose censorship or exclusion. The incident underscores governance and venue-selection considerations for tech policy conferences.
Access Now announced RightsCon 2026 will not take place in Zambia or online, citing suspected foreign interference that compromised the event’s safety and independence. The cancellation came days before the planned gathering of over 2,600 in-person and 1,100 online participants from 150+ countries. Access Now said it selected Lusaka after a rigorous, multi-year host review and a commitment to return RightsCon to Africa, but growing concerns about local government openness, political dynamics, and undue external influence led organizers to conclude the risks were unacceptable. The decision underscores rising geopolitical pressures on digital-rights convenings and raises alarms about the safety of civil society and cross-border coordination in tech and internet governance spaces.
RightsCon 2026, the globe’s largest digital rights conference organized by Access Now, was abruptly postponed after Zambian authorities — reportedly under pressure from the Chinese government — demanded that Taiwanese participants be excluded and certain topics moderated. Access Now says diplomats from the People’s Republic of China pressured Zambia over Taiwanese civil society attendance, prompting Zambian ministers to cite pending administrative and security clearances as reasons to delay the event. Panels on China’s export of censorship, surveillance tech, disinformation and cyberattacks were among sessions at risk. Organizers and affected Taiwanese groups were warned about travel and entry issues. The cancellation highlights how state actors can influence international tech and digital-rights forums, with implications for free discourse and cross-border civil-society engagement.