The 13th edition of RightCon, the world’s leading summit on human rights in the digital age, gets underway next week in Taipei, Taiwan. Between 24 – 27 February, ARTICLE 19 will be hosting and participating in a host of sessions on topics ranging from free expression in armed conflict, to countering China’s digital repression.
RightsCon is a unique space where human rights experts, digital rights activists, technologists and government representatives come together to discuss the most pressing human rights challenges, and strategise around potential solutions.
Over the course of the summit, ARTICLE 19 will be hosting or participating in over a dozen sessions focused on:
- Wartime censorship, accountability for digital rights and free expression violations in conflict, and the evolving role of platforms in times of war
- China’s digital transnational repression and its growing adverse influence in the technology realm around the world
- Protecting information integrity and the impact of disinformation in South and Eastern Europe
- Algorithmic transparency and the use of emerging technologies by Global Majority governments
- Social surveillance and its impact in promoting online hate and gender-based violence in Malaysia and Taiwan
- The global state of net neutrality, and how delicensing spectrum bands can help boost rural connectivity in the Global South
- The growing threats to freedom of expression in Tunisia
We hope to connect with you at the following:
Tuesday 25 February
Discourse, data, disinformation – exploring ideas for protecting information integrity together | 12:45 – 1:45pm GMT+8, room 101C (in person)
Dialogue session hosted by ARTICLE 19 Europe and GIZ, featuring Rasa Nedeljkov (Center for Research, Transparency and Accountability), Liliana Vițu (Audiovisual Council, Moldova), Lutz Guellner (Head of the European Economic and Trade Office in Taiwan (EETO) and Gevorg Hayrapetyan (Freedom of expression expert, Armenia), moderated by Joanna Szymanska (ARTICLE 19 Europe) and Franziska Jakobs (GIZ).
What is at stake for public watchdogs and freedom of expression in contexts where both the online and offline spheres are instilled with disinformation? What do we need to protect a fair and pluralistic public dialogue that addresses disinformation? This panel discussion will explore the impact of disinformation over information integrity, media independence and public participation. A spread of voices from South and Eastern Europe will bring forward experiences of resilient public watchdogs from diverse regions prone to high levels of disinformation.
Algorithmic transparency in the acquisition and deployment of emerging technologies by Global Majority governments | 2 – 3pm GMT+8, room 101A (in person)
Dialogue session hosted by ARTICLE 19 MX-CA and Thomson Reuters, featuring María José De Icaza Benet (ARTICLE 19 MX-CA), Apar Gupta (Internet Freedom Foundation), Thobekile Matimbe (Paradigm Initiative) and Jesús Eulises González Mejía (IIJ-UNAM), moderated by Adriano Mancinelli (Thomson Reuters Foundation).
Technological advancements have deeply infiltrated both public and private domains, revolutionizing governmental operations. States have found in emerging technologies tools to streamline processes and deliver public services. However, the widespread deployment of Artificial Intelligence and other technologies on decision-making across Global Majority governments has sparked concerns regarding transparency and accountability responsibilities. In regions like Mexico and Central America, AI systems in border control and the procurement of surveillance software against journalists and activists raise significant debate. African countries face similar worries regarding facial recognition surveillance, particularly its impact on marginalized groups, since some governments have collaborated with Huawei to implement AI-driven facial recognition for crime prevention, raising privacy issues. There are also concerns about data protection with the introduction of digital ID systems.
Thus, understanding these systems’ functioning and their role in governance becomes crucial. Demanding algorithmic transparency is fundamental. Through the session participants will be encouraged to share examples including research developed around the legalities surrounding AI governance, its impact on society and best practices that can be adopted to suit different contexts.
When the cannons are heard, are the muses silent? Wartime censorship | 2 – 3pm GMT+8, room 101C (in person)
Dialogue session hosted by Digital Security Lab Ukraine, featuring Chantal Joris (ARTICLE 19), Vita Volodovska (Digital Security Lab Ukraine), Artur Papyan (Media Diversity Institute – Armenia) and Julia Haas (OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media), moderated by Tetiana Avdieieva (Digital Security Lab Ukraine).
Forbidding to depict the movement of the military vehicles and location of the air defense systems, curbing the foreign information operations, combating illegal disinformation and propaganda – so many steps have to be taken to resist in the course of warfare. While facing an armed conflict of any kind it is particularly crucial to ensure that legal and policy responses are narrowly tailored to address the needs of the local population in information security, whereas not suppressing the critical voices, investigative journalism, vulnerable and marginalized groups. Multiple instances of wartime censorship have been faced throughout the last 10 years all over the globe – many of them have also triggered international responses in the form of regional restrictions, sanctions and other quasi-legal mechanisms. However, such responses were frequently criticized for being rather symptomatic than systemic, whereas coordination between the key stakeholders was always lacking, which led to an extremely slow reaction in the most critical moments.
The session is aimed at discussing the short- and long-term effects of the wartime speech limitations based on the current experiences, and design the most effective and human-rights-compliant approaches both domestically and internationally.
Social surveillance in promoting online hate and gender-based violence | 3:15 – 4:15pm GMT+8, room 202A (in person)
Roundtable hosted by ARTICLE 19 and KRYSS Network, featuring Nalini Elumalai (ARTICLE 19), Nabila Nasir-Myers (KRYSS Network), Chihhao Yu (IORG), Alfred Wu (ARTICLE 19) and Beda Epres (Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines).
Surveillance is often thought of as State-led and not a phenomenon that is socially accepted in our societies. However, shrinking civic spaces for discourse and for the promotion and defence of human rights has ensured the weaponisation of social surveillance that in turn results in various forms of normalised extremism. In fact, in many ways, discrimination is a reflection of normalised extremism and it is arguable that gender-based violence is one form of normalised extremism.
The surveillance that arises out of misogyny and sexism may not be State-led but it can be State-sanctioned because of patriarchal beliefs and norms. The session aims to better understand how social surveillance is weaponised to promote online hate and violence. Case studies from Malaysia and Taiwan will be used to kickstart roundtable discussions with participants. The roundtable discussions are designed to help gain a better understanding of what is defined as public interest and public morality in socially accepted forms of surveillance, and to develop arguments against the use of social surveillance for human rights violations and discrimination.
China Index Dialogue: protecting digital freedoms | 4:30 – 5:30pm GMT+8, room 101C (in person)
Dialogue session hosted by Doublethink Lab and ARTICLE 19, featuring Ivan Lai (Doublethink Lab), Tess Bacalla (Asia Democracy Chronicles), Matej Šimalčík (Central European Institute of Asian Studies) and Sikula Oniala (Amnesty International), moderated by Michael Caster (ARTICLE 19).
China’s adverse influence over the technology domain is growing, contributing to the rise of digital repression, particularly throughout the Indo-Pacific region. This trend is documented in ARTICLE 19’s report “The Digital Silk Road: China and the Rise of Digital Oppression in the Indo-Pacific” and Doublethink Lab’s China Index, among others.
This session will review how China’s technology domain imprint is enabling the erosion of digital rights through expert case studies drawn from ARTICLE 19 and Doublethink Lab’s networks in the region. Supported by Doublethink Lab’s Project Coordinator and China Index / China in the World (CITW) researchers, the session will focus on examples where China’s influence is most pronounced, featuring case studies from Cambodia, Pakistan, the Philippines, Thailand, and the Pacific, but also point to Taiwan’s model of digital democracy as a counter-weight to China’s model of digital authoritarianism. Panelists will draw on China Index insights and case studies (to be released in late 2024), focusing on the erosion of internet freedom and rights-based principles of digital governance.
Information wars: bridging the gap in accountability for digital rights and free expression violations | 7 – 8pm GMT+8 (online)
Dialogue session hosted by ARTICLE 19 and Committee to Protect Journalists, featuring Chantal Joris (ARTICLE 19), Khattab Hamad (Beam Reports), Sevgil Musaieva (Ukrainska Pravda) and Shannon Raj Singh (Athena Tech & Atrocities Advisory LLC), moderated by Amelia Evans (CPJ).
Recent armed conflicts, whether in Gaza, Sudan or Ukraine, have not only resulted in devastating civilian losses but were exacerbated by attacks on freedom of expression, access to information and digital rights. The unprecedented killing of journalists, internet shutdowns, censorship, incitement to violence and propaganda, harm civilians and facilitate the commission of international crimes – so far with little accountability or attention from international courts that do not adjudicate human rights cases. While information wars are nothing new, today’s conflicts involve technologies and strategies that were inconceivable just decades ago. Tech companies have become significant actors, with conflict parties increasingly using online platforms to incite to genocide or breaches of international humanitarian law, whilst human rights documentation is often censored. However, the application of international humanitarian law and international criminal law to these developments is yet to be fully grasped.
The session will bring together experts in international humanitarian law, international criminal law, digital rights and freedom of expression, to explore strategies ensuring that international courts and accountability mechanisms pay more attention to the information dimension of armed conflicts; better account for the interplay between different legal regimes at play; recognise the role of digital rights and free expression violations in perpetuating cycles of violence and fostering a culture of impunity; and ensure that those responsible for these violations do not go unpunished.
Command centers and data integration in “safe cities”: a cross-regional look at the evolving risks | 10:45 – 11:45pm GMT+8 (online)
Dialogue session hosted by International Forum for Democratic Studies, National Endowment for Democracy, Democracy + Tech Initiative, DFRLab and Atlantic Council, featuring Don Le (ARTICLE 19), Elizabeth Kerley (NED), Iria Puyosa (Atlantic Council), Valentin Weber (University of Oxford) and Roukaya Kasenally (University of Mauritius).
Around the globe, the growing availability of surveillance packages from PRC-based companies such as CEIEC and ZTE is providing governments with new opportunities to keep the physical public square under watch. This session will provide a forum for researchers who have studied these technologies’ procurement, deployment, and impact across different regional settings to share insights and compare experiences. Our dialogue will highlight case studies of “smart” surveillance from Venezuela, Myanmar, and Mauritius, as well as take a look ahead at the evolution of surveillance foreshadowed by innovations such as “city brains.”
Through a cross-regional exchange of expertise, participants will work toward a deeper understanding of what new capacities command centers and other surveillance packages are providing to importing governments, and the human rights risks that these entail. Participants will be encouraged to share their ideas for forward-looking strategies to promote transparency around the import of surveillance systems, as well as ensure the safety of human rights defenders and the protection of civic space in an age of mass surveillance.
Wednesday February 26
Sudan’s conflict: the life-and-death impact of internet shutdowns | 11:30 – 12:30 GMT+8, room 201A (in person)
Dialogue session featuring Sarah Wesonga (ARTICLE 19 Eastern Africa), Husam Mahjoub (Sudan Bukra TV Channel) and Isabela Fernandes (Tor Project).
The war in Sudan, which erupted in April 2023, has rapidly evolved into one of the most severe ongoing humanitarian crises worldwide. Nearly 11 million people have been internally displaced, 2 million have fled the country, and 25 million are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.
Total telecom and internet shutdowns have exacerbated the suffering of millions, severing their access to critical aid when it is needed most, often becoming a matter of life and death. The conflict has highlighted the internet’s use as a weapon by the warring parties—the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF)—not only by shutting it down but also by utilizing it to spread propaganda, misinformation, disinformation, and hate speech. In this session, we aim to highlight the severe impacts of internet shutdowns and the detrimental uses of the internet during times of conflict. We will provide examples and discuss potential solutions based on the experiences of the Sudanese people. We seek to engage the audience in exploring ways to combat internet shutdowns when they endanger lives. We expect the participants to share their experiences, discuss the possible solutions, and develop practical strategies for Sudan and other countries facing similar challenges.
Navigating a minefield? Roles and responsibilities of online platforms in times of war | 12:45 – 1:45 pm GMT+8, room 201B (in person)
Dialogue session hosted by ARTICLE 19 and Access Now, featuring Chantal Joris (ARTICLE 19), Marwa Fatafta (Access Now) and Shannon Raj Singh (Athena Tech & Atrocities Advisory LLC), moderated by Eliska Pirkova (Access Now).
The war in Gaza and its global ramifications, online and offline, has brought the spotlight once again on the role and responsibilities of online platforms in times of war. The unprecedented barrage of ‘disinformation’, ‘hate speech’, war propaganda, incitement to violence, as well as the censorship of protected speech and human rights documentation on online platforms, has raised urgent questions around how various international law frameworks apply to the dissemination of illegal or harmful content online during armed conflicts: how does international humanitarian law and international criminal law apply to online content governance in times of armed conflict? Who is bound by those rules? How do they interrelate with platforms’ responsibilities to respect human rights, in particular freedom of expression? And how do these three bodies of law compete or apply concurrently?
The session will delve into these questions and present the outcomes of reports published by both Access Now and ARTICLE 19 on the issue following their joint ‘Declaration of principles for content and platform governance in times of crisis’, which provides a roadmap for platforms on how to respect human rights before, during, and after a crisis. Our aim is to contribute to bridging the normative and policy gaps around how these different rules and bodies of law apply to online content governance – including how they translate into platform responsibilities.
Impact of the EU Digital Services Act on free expression and crime documentation in conflict | 4:30 – 5:30pm GMT+8, room 101A (in person)
Dialogue session hosted by ARTICLE 19 and Access Now, featuring Chantal Joris (ARTICLE 19), Dionysia Peppa (SMEX) and Jamael Jacob (Foundation for Media Alternatives), moderated by Eliska Pirkova (Access Now).
The final negotiations of the EU Digital Services Act (DSA) and the initial stages of its enforcement have been marked by two armed conflicts with immense geopolitical impact. Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine was the key reason why the DSA included a last-minute crisis response mechanism, criticised by many CSOs for lacking sufficient safeguards. After Hamas’ 7 October 2023 attacks prompted Israel’s relentless war on Gaza, the EU Commission started investigating social media companies due to the dissemination of illegal content circulating on their platforms. These actions have prompted criticism by many CSOs about politicised enforcement that does not follow the letter of the DSA and could undermine human rights. What became clear is that the reach of the DSA is already extending well beyond EU borders, influencing what content can circulate internationally about armed conflicts.
The session will explore ways civil society inside and outside the EU can work together to ensure that the DSA becomes a tool to protect the free flow of information during conflict.
Study: delicensing spectrum bands to boost rural connectivity in Global South countries | 10:45 – 11:45pm GMT+8 (online)
Dialogue session featuring Raquel Renno (ARTICLE 19), Cristiana Gonzalez (Instituto Bem Estar Brasil) and Cristiane Sanches (Abrint | LAC-ISP), moderated by Ritu Srivastava (Jadeite Solutions and IEEE).
Spectrum is managed by rules and regulations designed to ‘limit interference’ of different bands. The radio spectrum is part of the electromagnetic spectrum with frequencies from 30Hz to 300 GHz and waves that are widely used for different purposes from telecommunications to entertainment to military and navigation and more recently Internet of Things. Governments own these spectrum bands and manage themselves within their country’s borders and as per their requirement.
Licensing of these bands is done by governments based on frequency, geographic dimension, and time dimension of a spectrum usage along with technical details such as power levels to prevent interference. However, traditional ways of regulating spectrum have inefficiencies and are not keeping up with technological progress. Moreover, the auctioning cost to procure radio licensing is becoming very expensive. Hence, governments are trying to focus on unused regional spectrum bands and not utilized effectively by operators across their licensed geographic allotments.
The session will share the research findings that aim to establish a linkage between the delicensing of spectrum bands and the economic growth of the country. As an outcome, the session seeks to address the digital divide by exploring how liberalizing spectrum bands can enhance access to telecommunications services and promote inclusive growth.
Thursday 27 February
Glory to Hong Kong: deteriorating digital rights at China’s periphery | 9 – 10am GMT+8, room 201A (in person)
Dialogue session hosted by ARTICLE 19, Hong Kong Watch and The Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC), featuring Michael Caster (ARTICLE 19), Anouk Wear (Hong Kong Watch), Chung Ching Kwong (IPAC), Lokman Tsui (Citizen Lab) and Edmon Chung (ISOC HK, DotAsia Organisation).
Following pro-democracy demonstrations in 2019 and the imposition of the National Security Law (NSL) in 2020, Hong Kong has experienced a dramatic decline in the freedoms of expression, information, assembly, and association. This backtracking has played out on the streets, in the courts, and online.
The NSL and its 2024 successor Safeguarding National Security Ordinance have expanded official powers to censor and surveil in the name of national security, while a years-long struggle to censor the protest anthem ‘Glory to Hong Kong’ concluded in May 2024 opened the floodgate for greater censorship. Hong Kong will impose a Cybersecurity Law, which will further imperil digital rights. The role of foreign tech companies is vital, and yet they have remained silent or static in the face of legal challenges that fail to adhere to human rights and internet governance norms. Authorities, acting under direction or in an effort to appease Beijing, have claimed extraterritorial reach to block content and pursue human rights defenders overseas through transnational digital repression.
This expert dialogue will bring together voices from the Hong Kong human rights and tech community to unpack, contextualise, and brainstorm: where we are, how we have come here, what we can learn from the deterioration of digital rights in Hong Kong, and how we can resist.
Silencing voices in Tunisia: The battle of freedom of expression in a context of oppression | 9 – 10am GMT+8, room 401 (in person)
In Arabic
Roundtable hosted by ARTICLE 19 MENA, featuring Imen Ladjimi (ARTICLE 19), Feryel Charfeddine (CALAM), Aymen Zaghdoudi (Access Now), and Asma Sabri (CALAM).
The session will focus on discussing and identifying strategies to enhance the resilience of civic space actors in the face of increasing repression of freedom of expression. It will involve the exchange of experiences, including from similar contexts, and expertise on mobilization strategies and tactics to counter systematic repression targeting rights and freedoms, particularly in the digital era. This exchange will help shape strategic approaches that can be adapted to the Tunisian context. Additionally, highlighting the Tunisian situation will provide an opportunity to mobilize or establish potential partnerships, including at the regional level (MENA region), aimed at strengthening mobilization efforts both nationally and regionally.
The global state of net neutrality | 10:15 – 11:15am GMT+8, room 101C (in person)
Dialogue session hosted by epicenter.works, MediaNama and ARTICLE 19, featuring Raquel Renno (ARTICLE 19), Nikhil Pahwa (MediaNama), Alissa Starzak (Cloudflare) and Thomas Volmer (Netflix), moderated by Thomas Lohninger (epicenter.works).
Net neutrality is a foundational issue for digital rights. Recently, it became center stage in the policy debate worldwide again. Lawsuits against zero-rating in Latin America raise the question on meaningful connectivity for the most vulnerable parts of society. After the era of Donald Trump the USA reinstated net neutrality and thereby took into account the 5G mobile network technology and network slices. The idea of network fees has spread globally from the EU towards India and Latin America. We are faced with an existential thread to the inter- connection market that binds the global internet together and allows us all to connect meaningfully on a level playing field with each other and across borders. The concept of net neutrality needs to be revitalized with the digital rights community in light of new threads from the telecom industry and governments.
Countering China’s use of digital transnational repression to silence refugees and dissidents globally | 11:30am – 12:30pm GMT+8, room 101B (in person)
Dialogue session featuring Nithin Coca, Ai-Men Lau (Doublethink Lab), Patrick Poon (Asian Lawyers Network), Lobsang Gyatso Sither (Tibet Action Institute) and Michael Caster (ARTICLE 19).
Pervasive digital surveillance. Sophisticated spyware. Incessant hacking. For the growing Tibetan, Uyghurs, Hong Konger and Chinese dissident exile community, these threats are growing as China expands its use of technology to silence critics based outside the country. Increasingly, even journalists, human rights defenders and others in places like Taiwan, Cambodia and Thailand are being targeted. We’ll highlight the latest research, including recently released reports and analysis, on this topic, and explore the potential for information sharing between communities and other tactics to counter China’s use of digital transnational repression.
The panel will focus on exploring examples of transnational repression and how it is impacting refugees, exile communities, and civil society; how to defend communities against digital transnational repression; and whether better legal frameworks or digital tools can protect digital rights and ensure the safety of refugees, exile communities, journalists, and human rights defenders globally.