RightsCon 2025 Media Kit
The 13th edition of RightsCon will host participants both in Taipei and online, from Monday, February 24 to Thursday, February 27, 2025
We are thrilled to welcome you to the 13th edition of RightsCon in Taipei, Taiwan, at the Taipei International Conference Center (TICC) and online. Our press kit will give you everything you need to cover the event.
For media inquiries, please contact: [email protected], or your onsite contact Amina Khan, Communications and Media Manager: [email protected]
About RightsCon (general)
RightsCon is the world’s leading summit on human rights in the digital age, and a community-led space built by and for activists, technologists, policymakers, journalists, philanthropists, researchers, business leaders, and artists from around the world. RightsCon is proudly hosted by Access Now.
About RightsCon 2025
For its 13th edition, we’re excited to host RightsCon 2025 in Taipei and online from Monday 24 to Thursday 27 February, 2025. 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.
Get to know the RightsCon 2025 program
RightsCon presents a unique opportunity for media to engage with local, national, and international stakeholders committed to protecting and advancing human rights in the digital age. This year, the summit has over 550 sessions and 10,000+ participants (in-person and online) from 150 countries representing an array of key stakeholders from human rights defenders to Big Tech to government officials. Sign up for the RightsCon Summit platform, where you can access details of the sessions, connect with thousands of participants, access recorded sessions, and much more! Some key themes to expect at RightsCon include:
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) & EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES
As the world grapples with AI and its potential for good and harm, AI and emerging technologies will continue to influence and shape our digital and offline lives. RightsCon looks to the future and speculates on cutting-edge AI, and other technologies with the potential to disrupt our social, political, and economic systems.
Expect sessions in this category to explore technology and emotion, bioinformatics, quantum computing, technology use in space, extended reality (XR) and wearables, and climate mitigation technology.
Session highlight: Data protection in the era of AI: the private and public service perspectives, hosted by Access Now and Privacy by Design, featuring Raman Jit Singh Chima, Asia Pacific Policy Director and Senior International Counsel at Access Now.
CONFLICT & HUMANITARIAN ACTION
As the world continues to turn to digital solutions to many of the pressing issues, RightsCon looks at the role of technology in situations of armed conflict, natural disaster, food insecurity, forced displacement, and other crises.
Expect sessions in this category to explore biometrics and identity management in humanitarian response, war propaganda, online mediation, military tech, the role of tech companies and platforms’ crisis response, and more.
Session highlight: Digital Ceasefire — a new model for peace in the Digital Age?, hosted by Access Now and Berkeley Human Rights Center, featuring Brett Solomon, Senior Research Fellow at Berkeley Human Rights Center, and Marwa Fatafta, MENA Policy and Advocacy Director at Access Now.
CONTENT GOVERNANCE
Governments and Big Tech are under increasing pressure to address illegal or undesirable content and expression online, often with proposed solutions that risk violating human rights.
Expect sessions in this category to explore defending freedom of expression and opinion online and offline, and strengthening state, community, and platform approaches to tackle dissemination of illegal content online and disinformation. Sessions seek to address processes deployed in content governance, platform accountability, oversight mechanism, enforcement of community standards, impacts of algorithmic curation and automated decision making on human rights, and more.
Session highlight: Impact of the EU Digital Services Act on free expression and crime documentation in conflict, hosted by Access Now and Article 19, featuring Eliška Pírková, Senior Policy Analyst and Global Freedom of Expression Lead at Access Now, and Chantal Joris, Senior Legal Counsel at Article 19
DATA PROTECTION
Protecting people’s personal information online in an increasingly digital world is a crucial area of work for the digital rights community.
Expect sessions in this category to explore public regulations, private sector standards, and community guidelines to protect personal data. Sessions may explore topics such as data governance mechanisms, rights-based procedures to collect, store, maintain, process, and transfer data, and mechanisms to enforce public and private compliance and ensure proper data breach prevention and notification.
Session highlight: Protecting data subject rights everywhere: Assessing extraterritorial enforcement of data protection frameworks across the globe, hosted by Access Now, featuring Bridget Andere, Senior Policy Analyst at Access Now.
Launches at RightsCon 2025
Access Now and the #KeepItOn coalition are launching their annual internet shutdowns report, Emboldened offenders, endangered communities: internet shutdowns in 2024, at RightsCon. The report names the biggest offenders of internet shutdowns in 2024, documenting the leading causes of shutdowns, recommendations for stakeholders, and much more!
An in-person press briefing launching the report will be held on Monday 24 February, at 10:15am Taipei time. For further details and to register for the press briefing, please contact [email protected].
Connecting and opportunities for coverage
Connecting with participants
RightsCon is all about connecting with people, and this year, we’re continuing to support your engagement with participants, speakers, and each other.
RightsCon Summit Platform: contact participants directly online through the chat feature via the RightsCon Summit platform.
Community Village: connect with organizations and companies hosting in-person.
RightsCon media team: team members are available to help facilitate connections with speakers and other RightsCon participants upon request. Please direct all media requests to rightscon[email protected].
Press emails: we will notify media pass holders of major releases, updates, and press briefings throughout the event.
Social Media
RightsCon action will be taking place on Bluesky (@accessnow.org, @rightscon.org), Facebook, X, LinkedIn, and Instagram, so be sure to follow, and tag @RightsCon, @AccessNow, and use the hashtag #RightsCon2025, when sharing thoughts, chatting with participants, and seeking follow-up connections.
Guidelines for participation
For the safety and well-being of participants, please take careful note of the following policies and guidelines for participating at RightsCon 2025. Failing to abide by these rules could result in a violation of the RightsCon Code of Conduct and revocation of access to the event. All participants must adhere to the RightsCon Code of Conduct, therefore please ensure you familiarize yourself with it. Please also review the participant page for an in-depth look at how to navigate RightsCon and connect with the RightsCon community.
Identifying as press
Please identify as press at all times — both online and in-person — including in social spaces and private meetings. For those participating online, this should be done by accurately filling out your participant profile, and choosing press in the dropdown menu. Include “PRESS” in your display name, which will also make it easier for participants to find you in the Participants list and connect with you through the in-platform chat if you choose to enable the feature. For those physically attending, it will be clearly marked on your badge.
Permission and Attribution
Filming, photography, screen recording, and screenshots
Recording and photography at the venue are restricted to the first floor, filming elsewhere at the venue must be agreed upon in advance and coordinated with the media and production team. If participating virtually, please ensure you follow the rules on documenting the session as outlined by the session organizer concerning taking photos, screenshots, or any recordings. Generally, sessions such as Dialogues are open to all participants. However, some sessions will have specific rules for attendees wishing to document the session.
We encourage you to confirm with session moderators in advance what rules apply. If you arrive late to a session, do not assume it is on the record, as the attribution rules may have already been clarified.
Some sessions with limited or closed participation — including Workshops, Roundtables, and Private Meetings — should not be recorded in any manner without explicit consent from participants and session organizers.
Please note that we reserve the right to inspect bags and equipment entering the RightsCon venue. Certain types of sophisticated recording or surveillance devices will not be permitted.
Colored lanyards in person
Upon arrival at RightsCon, participants are issued a RightsCon badge that includes their first name, last name, and affiliation. We expect this credential to be worn at all times when inside the venue, and RightsCon-managed spaces. Participants can choose to have a red or blue lanyard.
Importantly, red lanyards indicate that a participant does not want to be photographed, quoted, or recorded in any way. An individual may not want their participation to be documented or made public for various reasons, including their privacy and/or security concerns. This policy applies to all photography, video, or posts that capture individual identity at the summit.
Anonymized profiles online
It is your responsibility to obtain permission from participants and speakers to be quoted and to ensure appropriate attribution. At the start of each session, organizers may indicate if and how speakers can be quoted. Safety is paramount, and speakers and participants who have their online profiles anonymized cannot be described in a level of detail that would make them identifiable.
Media lounge
Press attending in person will have access to a dedicated media space located on the first floor of the venue.
Quotes for press
“This will be my first RightsCon as Executive Director of Access Now, and I’m excited to connect with our digital rights community. RightsCon is an essential space for connection, collaboration, and collective action, especially in these challenging times. This also marks our first RightsCon in East Asia, and Taiwan is not only ready to host RightsCon 2025 but is also uniquely positioned at the heart of today’s geopolitical landscape in the digital rights movement. I’ve had the privilege of meeting with Taiwanese civil society organizations, government representatives, and Indigenous youth leaders, all of whom have shown remarkable enthusiasm and dedication to shaping a future where digital rights are protected and accessible for all.”
Alejandro Mayoral Banos, Executive Director, Access Now
“Since its launch in 2011, RightsCon has remained steadfast in its mission to leverage the power of convening to defend and extend human rights in the digital age. In 2025, this mission is more urgent than ever, and we are committed to providing spaces for our community to debate, collaborate, and strategize on pressing global issues, including conflicts and humanitarian action, data protection, AI, content governance, and more.”
Nikki Gladstone, RightsCon Director
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