RightsCon 2025, Taipei and online
2025-02-24 08:00 - 2025-02-27 16:15 (Asia/Taipei) | Taipei International Convention Center
Venue: Taipei International Convention Center

Each year, RightsCon convenes business leaders, policy makers, general counsels, government representatives, technologists, academics, journalists, and human rights advocates from around the world to tackle pressing issues at the intersection of human rights and technology. In engaging fireside chats, hands-on workshops, strategic roundtables, private meetings, and a lively exhibition space, RightsCon is where a global movement comes together to build strategies and drive forward change toward a more free, open, and connected digital world.

Over the past 12 years, RightsCon has rotated to key hubs around the world, including San José, Tunis, Toronto, Brussels, Rio de Janeiro, Manila, and San Francisco, and grown, both in size and in scope to meet the evolving needs of a movement.

For its 13th edition, we’re excited to host RightsCon 2025 in Taipei and online from February 24 to 27. As a leading democracy in the region, Taiwan is recognized globally for the freest online environment and greatest human freedom in Asia, a whole-of-society approach to human rights, and a vibrant civil society community. As the routine location of large-scale international events, coupled with the rapidly growing presence of international NGOs and global tech companies, we look forward to hosting our first summit in East Asia in Taipei and returning to the Asia Pacific region after a decade.

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Situation of Press Freedom in Tunisia
2025-05-05 08:00 - 13:00 (Europe/Paris) | Hotel Golden Tulip Mechtel, Tunis, Tunisia
In September 2022, Tunisia adopted its first cybercrime law, which diverges significantly from international standards due to its inclusion of content-based offenses and disproportionate sanctions. Article 24 of the law criminalizes the sharing, sending, or publishing of false information, defamatory content, or other forms of expression using vague and overly broad language. It imposes severe penalties ranging from 5 to 10 years in prison, raising serious concerns about its impact on freedom of expression.

Article 24 has been widely used as a legal tool to prosecute journalists, lawyers, and human rights defenders, contributing to the suppression of media diversity, encouraging self-censorship, and discouraging public engagement in democratic debate.

One panel will focus on the recent legislative proposal to amend the cybercrime decree, exploring how to align it with international standards and instruments such as the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime and the UN Cybercrime Treaty, which is expected to open for signatures later this year.

Another panel will examine the opportunities and challenges posed by artificial intelligence, with a focus on how journalists and media outlets can leverage AI tools while safeguarding journalistic ethics, copyright protections, and other fundamental rights.

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Strategic Workshop of the DSA Human Rights Alliance
2025-05-05 16:00 - 18:00 (Europe/Brussels) | Digital Rights Hub (Access Now Europe Office), Rue Belliard 12, 1040 Brussels, Belgium
With shrinking civic space, limited funding, and a general democratic decline in the EU and beyond, at-risk communities, including HRDs and exiled media, are becoming increasingly vulnerable online. Human rights defenders act as custodians of human rights. Online platforms often serve as their lifeline for accessing necessary information to continue their advocacy efforts. Nevertheless, HRDs encounter significant threats online, such as malicious cyber activities, online censorship, targeted internet shutdowns, arbitrary or unlawful online surveillance, harassment, smear campaigns, disinformation, and doxxing. While online platforms need heightened due diligence and implement adequate safeguards for HRD safety, the current state of the art remains inadequate.

The DSA human rights alliance strategic meeting will gather alliance members—civil society organizations defending digital rights and communities at risk globally—to strategize and explore methodologies to protect existing positions and advance a common agenda against an increasingly adversarial environment in the EU and beyond.

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Inter-American approach to the AI international regulatory landscape
2025-05-06 16:00 - 18:00 (Europe/Brussels) | Digital Rights Hub (Access Now Europe Office), Rue Belliard 12, 1040 Brussels, Belgium
Depending on the context, the word “regulation” could be seen as a threat since it could imply an incompatibility with innovation and the deployment of emerging technologies such as AI. Even when AI has a good potential to safely support access to goods, justice, and public space, its development should raise the attention of policymakers and justice stakeholders to the risks it implies for human rights, law enforcement, and efficient access to the judicial system.

This session will explore key AI trends in these topics (access to social services, information integrity, law enforcement, and judicial activities), examining whether current approaches respect human rights, uphold state sovereignty, and address environmental impacts. It will provide an in-depth analysis of existing regulations and judicial decisions on AI and the Rule of Law in Latin America vis-à-vis the international regulatory landscape (e.g., UNESCO’s guidelines, European AI Act), focusing on mitigation strategies for human rights impacts.

Discussing regulatory and anti-regulatory approaches, case studies, and regional experiences with AI impacts on human rights, we will provide guidance on the relevant regional and international human rights laws, principles, and emerging jurisprudence that are useful to shape regulations, policies, and practices related to AI that are compatible with human rights and democratic institutions.

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Access Now at Web Summit Vancouver
2025-05-28 00:00 - 23:59 (America/Vancouver)
May 27 – May 30

Vancouver Convention Centre (1055 Canada Pl, Vancouver, BC V6C 0C3, Canada)

In May 2025, thousands of international entrepreneurs, investors, media outlets, and leaders will convene at Web Summit Vancouver. Dubbed the “world’s premier tech conference” and “Glastonbury for geeks,” the summit is expected to gather over 15,000 attendees from the world’s tech community. Access Now will attend and participate, bringing to bear our unique perspective of the intersection between human rights and technology.

Check out the official website for more information about the event.

Wednesday, May 28, 2025

Freedom on the line: Why digital rights matter | Access Now | 16:00

The U.S. administration’s decision to freeze all foreign aid is only the latest in a series of developments that herald a significant downturn in funding for human rights, triggering deep and foundational crises for civil society globally. This session will highlight the current and emerging challenges for digital rights specifically, and a path forward.

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The Digital Rights in Asia-Pacific Assembly (DRAPAC) 2025
2025-08-26 10:00 - 2025-08-28 17:30 (Asia/Kuala_Lumpur)
AICB Centre for Excellence, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

The Digital Rights in Asia-Pacific Assembly (DRAPAC) 2025 is a pivotal gathering of digital rights advocates, policymakers, and tech experts dedicated to discussing and addressing pressing digital rights issues in the Asia Pacific region.

Below are some of the events Access Now will be joining:

Day 1, 26 August

Tending to the network: the regional scene of digital security support

4:00pm–5:20pm, Kuala Lumpur time | Human Rights Tech Commons Southwest Corner, Second Floor, AICB Centre for Excellence

This social gathering brings together digital security support specialists from across the region to connect and discuss shared experiences and struggles. It is open to anyone providing digital security support to human rights defenders in the region, whether you’re a trainer, researcher, helpline staff, etc. The aim is to create a space where participants can surface their needs, intentions, and potential or future plans where others can support. Hosted by Digital Defenders Partnership (DDP) and Access Now’s Digital Security Helpline.

Day 2, 27 August

Digging deeper: how to embed infrastructure considerations within our work

10:00am–10:50am, Kuala Lumpur time | Theatrette 1.12, First Floor, AICB Centre for Excellence

Digital infrastructure decisions — regarding everything from data centers and cloud architecture to internet exchange points and submarine cables — have deep implications for rights, equity, and resilience. This session will explore why civil society must grapple with the politics of infrastructure and how to do so effectively. Featuring Darika Bamrungchok, Asia Pacific Policy Analyst at Access Now, who will surface regional case studies and entry points for advocacy collaboration.

Designing rights-respecting, culturally sensitive and inclusive DPI

11:00am–11:50am, Kuala Lumpur time | Room 2.12, Second Floor, AICB Centre for Excellence

Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) is foundational, but without rights-centered design, it can entrench exclusion or surveillance. This ideation workshop spotlights inclusive DPI frameworks tailored to cultural contexts across Asia‑Pacific. Raman Jit Singh Chima, Asia Pacific Policy Director at Access Now, will join the conversation to discuss strategies for embedding rights-based policymaking into DPI rollouts and policy frameworks.

From Vienna to Hanoi: how the UN Convention against Cybercrime will reshape Asia-Pacific

12:00pm–12:50pm, Kuala Lumpur time | Room 2.12, Second Floor, AICB Centre for Excellence

The UN Cybercrime Convention, recently adopted after years of negotiations, is poised to impact national laws and enforcement practices across the region. This session will unpack the treaty’s implications for rights, sovereignty, and cybersecurity in Asia-Pacific, and explore how civil society can engage with implementation processes. Hosted by Access Now, the panel includes Faiz Naeem, Asia Pacific Program Associate at Access Now, Raman Jit Singh Chima, Asia Pacific Policy Director at Access Now, Michael Caster, Head of Global China Programme at Article 19, and Sanhawan (Kay) Srisod, Senior Legal Adviser at ICJ

Future of Digital Rights in ASEAN – consultation on Cybersecurity, Digital Economy, and Artificial Intelligence

12:00pm–12:50pm, Kuala Lumpur time | Room 2.12, Second Floor, AICB Centre for Excellence

As ASEAN develops frameworks on cybersecurity, AI, and digital trade, human rights must remain central. This roundtable consultation brings together civil society voices and policy thinkers to align advocacy strategies and enhance regional participation. It features Laura Naw, East Asia and ASEAN Programme Officer at FORUM‑ASIA, Rachel Arinii Judhistari, Lead Public Policy Speacialist Asia at Wikimedia Foundation, Darika Bamrungchok Asia Pacific Policy Analyst at Access Now, and Lorenzo Urbinati, Strategic Adviser at Oxfam, convened by Oxfam International alongside co‑hosts Wikimedia Foundation, FORUM‑ASIA, EngageMedia, and Access Now.

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Access Now at the 12th edition of CIPESA’s FIFAfrica
2025-09-24 09:00 - 2025-09-26 17:30 (Africa/Windhoek)
Windhoek International Convention Center, Windhoek, Namibia

The Forum on Internet Freedom in Africa 2025 (#FIFAfrica25), hosted by the Collaboration on International ICT Policy in East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) in partnership with Namibia’s Ministry of ICT and the Namibia IGF, will take place in Windhoek, Namibia, 24-26 September, 2025.

Since its inception in 2014, FIFAfrica has provided a vital platform for multistakeholder dialogue and collaboration on advancing digital rights across the continent.

Access Now continues to participate at FIFAfrica to strengthen our partnerships in the region and engage on key areas of our work.

Here’s where you can find Access Now at FIFAFrica25:

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Tuesday 23 – Thursday 25 September, 2025

Africa Cybersecurity Advocacy workshop | Internet Society (ISOC) Global Encryption Coalition (GEC) 09:00 – 17:00 daily

[Workshop session] Africa’s encryption landscape: how African governments undermine the use of encryption | CIPESA & Access Now| Tuesday 23 September 2025 16:30 – 17:30

About: Access Now will join ISOC, CIPESA and other partner organizations of the Global Encryption Coalition to host a three-day cybersecurity advocacy workshop on the sidelines of FIFAfrica25. The workshop is designed to equip encryption advocates with the knowledge and skills to fight anti-encryption legislation and address other evolving threats to encryption across the continent.

Thursday 25 September, 2025

Book launch: Internet shutdowns in Africa | 25 September 9:30 – 11:00 📍Brandberg

Join us and our partners for the launch of a new book, Internet shutdowns in Africa: Technology, Rights and Power, produced by African authors from 11 countries — including Access Now’s Kassem Mnejja, Senior MENA Campaigner, and Felicia Anthonio, #KeepItOn Global Campaign Manager — showcasing the most comprehensive documentation to date of the incidents of internet shutdowns in the selected countries. In this session, authors will unpack how and why shutdowns are imposed, and their impact on peoples’ social, economic and political rights in Uganda, Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, Sudan, Nigeria, Chad, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Algeria, and Zimbabwe. This is the first book of its kind dedicated to analysing internet shutdowns in Africa, as well as various forms of resistance that citizens across Africa are using to circumvent, challenge, and end internet shutdowns. It is also the first book to include a comprehensive analysis of the power interests that give rise to internet shutdowns. This session will also engage with participants to share experiences and observations on the subject matter, and connect with the authors. There will be copies of the book available for purchase and download.

Book contributors:

Kassem Mnejja, Access Now, Senior MENA Campaigner

Felicia Anthonio, Access Now, #KeepItOn Global Campaign Manager

Friday 26 September, 2025

Panel: Data protection and cybersecurity in Africa: multi-country insights on key issues and opportunities for strengthening human rights protections | OXFAM and Access Now 08:30 AM – 10:00 AM 📍Kuiseb Hall.About: OXFAM and Access Now are hosting a panel discussion to explore key issues and opportunities for strengthening human rights protections in cyber policy and data protection implementation across Africa. The panel will feature speakers from Tunisia, Somalia, Kenya, and Nigeria.

Panel: #KeepItOn: Resisting internet shutdowns during conflict and turmoil – lessons from across Africa | Access Now and AWAFY Sudanese Organization 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM 📍Omatako 4About: This session explores how governments across Africa deploy internet shutdowns as tools of repression during conflict and political instability. With a focus on the prolonged weaponization of blackouts and internet shutdowns during times of conflict in Sudan and Ethiopia’s Tigray region, as well as insights from Equatorial Guinea and Senegal, the session offers strategies for resistance, advocacy, and legal pushback, centering local voices from these countries.

Access Now at India AI Impact Summit 2026
2026-02-16 00:00 - 2026-02-20 23:59 (Asia/Kolkata)
Bharat Mandapam

The India AI Impact Summit 2026 is a high-profile international event involving heads of state and government, ministers, senior government officials, international delegations, industry leaders, media, and general delegates. Building on the momentum of previous multilateral initiatives, including the Bletchley Park, Seoul, Paris, and Kigali Summits, the AI Impact Summit is envisaged to mark a shift from aspirations to impact, demonstrating how AI can deliver tangible outcomes for people, planet, and progress.

Below are some of the events Access Now will be joining at the India AI Impact Summit:

19 February

Fireside chat and high-level reception

7:30 pm onwards, Indian Standard Time | Fountain Lawn, India International Centre Main Building

Access Now, along with Aapti Institute and AI Now, is hosting an evening that steps away from the formal summit agenda and into a sharp, thoughtful, and candid exchange about where AI is headed and what is being left unsaid in official rooms. The centerpiece is a fireside chat bringing together three exceptional voices:

Brando Benifei, Member of the European Parliament and a key architect of the EU AI Act;

Karen Hao, the award-winning journalist and author of “Empire of AI,” whose reporting has deeply shaped our understanding of power and technology; and

Seema Chishti, Editor of The Wire, known for her incisive political analysis and journalism.

Together, they will reflect on AI, governance, and power in a provocative conversation designed to cut through the usual rhetoric and get to the real tensions shaping our digital future. Following the discussion, we will host an informal networking reception from 9:00 PM onwards. We know schedules are packed, so please feel free to join for the full discussion or simply stop by for the reception.

20 February

The AI-Cyber Nexus: A Strategic Dialogue on Global Security, Trust, and Governance

3:30 pm–4:25 pm, Indian Standard Time | Chanakya Auditorium, Sushma Swaraj Bhawan

Access Now and Global Partners Digital are co-organising this session at the India AI Impact Summit to move the conversation beyond hype and headlines toward real policy, real risks, and real choices. Rather than treating AI and cybersecurity as separate worlds, this discussion brings them together, asking what it actually means to build AI that is secure, trustworthy, and rights-respecting in practice.

This session aims to propose a technically grounded conversation on the cybersecurity implications of large language models and agentic AI. Using the confidentiality-integrity-availability (CIA) framework, it will explore how advanced AI tools impact privacy, encryption, information integrity, and resilience of critical services. Instead of abstract warnings, panelists will draw on concrete experience from cybersecurity and AI governance to identify what governments, companies, and civil society should do, and what they should avoid.

The panel will open by remarks from Access Now’s Executive Director, Alejandro Mayoral Banos, and will be moderated by Nirmal John, Senior Editor at Economic Times. Panelists include Access Now’s Global Cybersecurity Lead, Raman Jit Singh Chima; Anne Marie Engtoft Meldgaard, Tech Ambassador, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Denmark; Maria Paz Canales, Head of Policy and Advocacy at Global Partners Digital; Udbhav Tiwari, Vice President, Strategy and Global Affairs at Signal; and Nikolas Schmidt Policy Analyst, Division of AI and Emerging Tech at OECD.

Note: This session is a part of the official agenda for the AI Impact Summit and requires registration with the event.

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The Fireside chat and high level reception (19th Feb – 7:30 PM onwards)

The AI-Cyber Nexus: A Strategic Dialogue on Global Security, Trust, and Governance (20th Feb – 3:30 to 4:30 PM)

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Advancing Rights-Centered reporting on Nigeria's Cybercrimes Act
2026-04-21 13:00 - 14:30 (Africa/Lagos)
Since Nigeria’s Cybercrimes Act was passed in 2015, more than two dozen journalists, human rights defenders and whistleblowers have been targeted by authorities, using overbroad prohibitions on “cyberstalking” to punish critical online speech and silence opposition voices.

Alongside Human Rights Journalists Network, Socio Economic Rights & Accountability Project (SERAP), and Avocats Sans Frontiers Nigeria (E-Rights Nigeria Project), Access Now will be hosting a webinar on 21 April at 1:00 PM GMT+1 where we will unpack the human rights implications of Nigeria’s Cybercrimes Act and discuss with journalists and human rights organizations, rights based framing for reporting accurately, responsibly, and critically on cybercrime-related cases and ongoing reform efforts by civil society.

The speakers are:

Moderator: Kehinde Adegboyega, Executive Director, Human Rights Journalists Network

Speakers:

Naro Omo-Osagie, Africa Policy Manager, Access Now

Angela Uwandu Uzoma-Uwuchukwu, Head of Office, Avocats Sans Frontieres Nigeria (Convener E-Rights Nigeria Project)

Olúwádàre A. Kóláwolé, Deputy Director, Socio Economic Rights & Accountability Project (SERAP)

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Digital security in war and conflict: challenges for civil society and tools for resilience
2026-05-19 09:00 - 10:00 (America/New_York)
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Actors engaged in humanitarian protection and human rights now recognize digital- related harms as a component of war and conflicts. Humanitarian organizations, as well as other actors that intervene and support, like private companies and civil society, are reorienting their work to support individuals and communities to stay safe online in the context of armed conflict and humanitarian crises.

As part of the Digital Security Helpline’s efforts to address this complex challenge, we will host a webinar that focuses on the specific threats and challenges for civil society. The webinar will take place on May 19, 2026, at 9:00 am EST (15:00 pm CEST, 21:00 pm Philippines and Western Indonesia).

This event is part of “Safe and strong”: a webinar series on digital security, an initiative of the Digital Security Helpline to bring together civil society, private sector partners, and other support organizations, to discuss how to increase resilience in the digital age.

Registration is available here.

“SAFE AND STRONG”: A WEBINAR SERIES ON DIGITAL SECURITY

is an initiative of the Digital Security Helpline to bring together civil society, private sector partners, and other support organizations, to discuss how to increase resilience in the digital age.

Speakers:

Mahsa Alimardani is the Associate Director of the Technology Threats & Opportunities program at WITNESS. She has over a decade of experience working at the intersection of digital rights, freedom of expression, and emerging technologies, leading research and advocacy on digital repression and contributing to the design and development of technologies that serve the most vulnerable.

Jocelyn Woolbright serves as a Program Manager on Cloudflare’s Public Policy team, where she oversees initiatives to protect human rights defenders, journalism organizations, and state and local governments online. Her work includes conducting digital security training and providing threat briefings to civil society groups on emerging cyberattacks that target vulnerable populations worldwide.

Mia Marzotto is the Digital Rights Advocacy Lead at Oxfam. She is part of the project management unit of a multi-year multi-country program, connecting community-level action, policy influence, and corporate accountability on digital rights. Her past roles include working with The Signals Network on whistleblower protection and with Translators without Borders on humanitarian and development policy influencing. Mia holds an MA in International Affairs from The New School and an LLM in International Human Rights Law from the University of Essex.

Luis Barrueto is the Administrative and Communications Coordinator at Access Now’s Digital Security Helpline, where he provides across-the-board project support to the team offering 24/7 digital security assistance. His previous background in the Americas includes as founder of an LGBTQ+ activist organization in Guatemala and as a strategic communications and advocacy advisor to human rights organizations in Central America, Mexico, and Colombia.

Giulio Coppi (moderator) is the Senior Humanitarian Officer at Access Now. He has over 15 years of international experience across the humanitarian, human rights, and academic sectors. He has worked with NRC, ICRC, OCHA, and OHCHR, among others, and has experience responding to crisis contexts in several countries. At Access Now, Giulio is responsible for monitoring and advising on digital rights in the context of conflict and disaster; advancing protection from digital harm through international humanitarian law norms, customs, and principles; and promoting ethical approaches to the design and delivery of technological systems by private companies.

PREVIOUS SESSIONS

Spear-phishing (March)

[March 10, 2026] Spear phishing: how to stay safe and prevent advanced attacks against civil society

Rebekah Brown, Citizen Lab

Justin Albrecht, Lookout.

Mykola Kostynyan, Resident.NGO

Marilou Maala and Mohammed Al-Maskati (moderator), Access Now’s Digital Security Helpline

Digital security in war and conflict (May)

[May 19, 2026] Digital security in war and conflict: challenges for civil society and tools for resilience

Jocelyn Woolbright, Program Manager on Cloudflare’s Public Policy team

Mia Marzotto, Digital Rights Advocacy Lead at Oxfam

Luis Barrueto, Access Now’s Digital Security Helpline

Giulio Coppi, Senior Humanitarian Officer at Access Now

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