Chinese Pressure Forces Cancellation of World's Largest Digital Rights Conference

RightsCon, the world's largest digital rights conference, has been abruptly canceled for 2026, with its organizer, the nonprofit Access Now, citing direct pressure from the Chinese government. The cancellation, initially announced as a postponement by the Zambian government, is reportedly a direct consequence of the planned in-person participation of Taiwanese civil society groups, which Beijing strongly opposed, raising serious questions about freedom of expression and assembly in the global digital space. According to Access Now, diplomats from the People's Republic of China (PRC) exerted significant pressure on the Government of Zambia. The organization stated it was told "informally from multiple sources" that for RightsCon to proceed, it would have to "moderate specific topics and exclude communities at risk, including our Taiwanese participants, from in-person and online participation." This confirms a clear attempt to dictate the conference's agenda and participant list, undermining the fundamental principles of international conferences. RightsCon 2026 was slated to feature critical discussions on China's international influence, including its export of digital authoritarianism, disinformation campaigns in regions like Africa, and the global spread of its cyberattacks and surveillance technologies. A week before the conference was scheduled to take place in Lusaka, Zambia, the Zambian government abruptly announced that it would be postponed to an unspecified date, citing "pending administrative and security clearances" for certain speakers and participants, a statement later echoed by the minister for information and media. Arzu Geybulla, co-executive director of Access Now, confirmed that "multiple pieces of information we received indicated that foreign interference by the People's Republic of China played a role in the abrupt disruption of RightsCon 2026." She noted that two days before Zambia's announcement, Access Now became aware of China's attention to Taiwanese participation and its efforts to influence Zambia's approach. This was corroborated by the Open Culture Foundation, a Taiwanese nonprofit, which was warned by Access Now about potential entry issues for Taiwanese citizens into Zambia. This incident extends beyond RightsCon, as the World Press Freedom Day conference, also planned for Lusaka, saw most of its events moved to Paris or online. While RightsCon has been held since 2011, bringing together thousands of people to address internet censorship and human rights, and even hosted its 2025 edition in Taipei, Geybulla emphasized this is the first time the organization has faced such overt pressure from the Chinese government. Human rights activist Samuel Chu remarked on the shifting international landscape, suggesting that China now feels empowered to disrupt large-scale conferences without significant global backlash.