EDRi condemns Zambia's de facto cancellation of #RightsCon2026 following Chinese pressure.

This violates freedom of expression & assembly and further strains the digital rights and democracy community at a critical moment.

We stand with @accessnow.bsky.social and Bloggers for Zambia.

Full statement → https://epd.eu/news-publications/statement-the-zambian-governments-cancellation-of-rightscon-2026-is-a-blow-to-digital-rights-and-democracy/

Passend zum 1. Mai wurde die RightsCon 2026 kurzfristig vom Gastgeberland Sambia abgesagt. Es wird die Einmischung Chinas vermutet. Hierzulande wird darüber noch nicht einmal berichtet.

Es ist die weltweit größte Konferenz zu Menschenrechten im digitalen Zeitalter mit etwa 5.000 Teilnehmer*innen aus über 150 Ländern und 500+ Sessions. Themen wären u. a. Überwachung, KI‑Regulierung, Internet‑Shutdowns und Plattformmacht gewesen.

#rightscon2026
#unfollowbigtech

https://www.rightscon.org/rc26-statement/

China's Disruption of #RightsCon is a Wake-Up Call To Counter Its Authoritarian Influence. #Internet #Rightscon2026 #internetFreedom

https://www.techpolicy.press/chinas-disruption-of-rightscon-is-a-wakeup-call-to-counter-its-authoritarian-influence/

China’s pressure silenced the world’s largest digital rights conference.

#RightsCon2026 was reportedly canceled after the Chinese government pushed Zambia to block discussions on Beijing’s global digital influence and exclude Taiwanese participants. This kind of interference is no surprise, given China’s long‑documented human rights record and its repeated use of transnational repression to silence critics beyond its borders.

Governments must resist this intimidation and defend civic space, online and offline.

https://www.wired.com/story/the-chinese-government-pressured-zambia-to-cancel-the-worlds-largest-digital-rights-conference/

A statement about why RightsCon 2026 will not take place in Zambia

https://www.rightscon.org/rc26-statement/

#HackerNews #RightsCon2026 #Zambia #Statement #HumanRights #DigitalRights #Activism

The rumors are true-- the reason RightsCon in Zambia was cancelled was because of China pressuring the Zambian government to disallow Taiwanese participants and possibly other "sensitive" topics. This is of course unacceptable for perhaps the most important human rights conference in the world.

The Chinese government is not benign, in case anyone has any doubt, and with the fall of the US their global influence is growing and they are emboldened to wield it. (My theory is that China is keeping the rest of us at war in order to come out on top later.)

Full details:

https://www.rightscon.org/rc26-statement/

#RightsCon #RightsCon2026 #HumanRights #FreeSpeech #FreeExpression #Zambia #China #Taiwan