Chinese Government Pressures Zambia to Cancel RightsCon Digital Rights Conference
Original: The Chinese Government Just Got the World’s Largest Digital Rights Conference Canceled
Why This Matters
Highlights growing Chinese influence over international digital rights discourse and civil society events
Access Now canceled RightsCon 2026, the world's largest digital rights conference, after Zambian officials demanded exclusion of Taiwanese participants due to Chinese diplomatic pressure. The event was set to feature panels on China's digital authoritarianism exports.
Access Now, organizer of RightsCon, says Chinese diplomats pressured Zambia's government to exclude Taiwanese civil society participants from the conference scheduled in Lusaka. The organization was told informally from multiple sources that to continue the event, it would need to moderate specific topics and exclude at-risk communities including Taiwanese participants. RightsCon 2026 was planned to feature panels on China's international influence, digital authoritarianism exports to Africa, disinformation campaigns, cyberattacks, and global surveillance technology spread. A week before the May event, Zambian officials abruptly postponed it citing pending administrative and security clearances. Minister Felix Mutati referenced speaker clearances, while Information Minister Thabo Kawana cited need for comprehensive disclosure of thematic discussion topics.