RightsCon, the world’s largest digital rights conference, was canceled this year due to pressure from the Chinese government, according to the nonprofit that organizes the annual event.
In statementAccording to Access Now, “he was told that diplomats from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) were putting pressure on the Zambian government because Taiwanese civil society representatives were planning to join us in person.”
The Chinese embassy in Washington and the U.S. Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office did not immediately respond to requests for comment. When WIRED called the Zambian Embassy in Washington, an employee answered the phone and transferred the call to another employee, who then answered for a few seconds before hanging up. Another call went unanswered.
Access Now says it has been told “informally by multiple sources” that “in order for the RightsCon Continuation to continue, we would need to moderate certain topics and exclude at-risk communities, including our Taiwanese participants, from in-person and online participation.”
RightsCon 2026 is scheduled for several panels on China’s international influence, including how Beijing is exporting digital authoritarianism and spreading disinformation in regions like Africa, as well as discussions on China’s cyberattacks and the global spread of its censorship and surveillance technologies.
Arzu Geybulla, co-executive director of Access Now, tells WIRED that “much of the information we received indicated that foreign interference by the People’s Republic of China played a role in the sudden disruption of RightsCon 2026.”
A week before the conference was scheduled to take place in Lusaka, Zambia, the Zambian government suddenly announced that it would be postponed until an unspecified date. In statement On April 28, Technology and Science Minister Felix Mutati said that administrative and security clearances are still required for some “speakers and participants.” The next day, Thabo Kawana, Zambia’s minister of information and media, added that “the postponement was necessary due to the need for comprehensive disclosure of key information on the key thematic issues proposed for discussion at the summit.”
On April 27, two days before the Zambian government’s announcement, Access Now “became aware that the in-person participation of individuals from Taiwan had attracted the attention of the government of the People’s Republic of China. In turn, Chinese authorities appeared to be attempting to influence the Zambian government’s approach to the movement of Taiwanese participants across the border,” Geybulla says. “Shortly thereafter, the Zambian government publicly referred to ‘diplomatic protocols’ and ‘pending administrative and security clearances’ of participants as reasons for their disruption of RightsCon.”
The Open Culture Foundation, a Taiwanese nonprofit that was scheduled to attend RightsCon this year, says Access Now warned it that Taiwanese nationals may have problems entering Zambia due to possible objections from the Chinese embassy. They were told to put their travel plans on hold until their host coordinated with Zambian officials.
Nikki Gladstone, director of RightsCon at Access Now, confirmed to WIRED that the organization had been in contact with Taiwanese participants about potential issues related to traveling to Zambia. “Given the potential access issues this could pose for this community, many of whom were about to embark on their journey, we felt an obligation to inform our registered Taiwanese participants about this project while seeking further details and information,” says Gladstone. “We said we would be hesitant to recommend travel until there was more clarity.”
An employee of another human rights organization, who asked to remain anonymous for security reasons, tells WIRED that after RightsCon was officially postponed, a funder told him that the Chinese government had been pressuring the Zambian government for days over the presence of a Taiwanese delegation at the conference.