At RightsCon 2025 in Taipei (February 24-27), Tech Global Institute led salient discussions on a range of issues around tech accountability that disproportionately affect communities in the Global Majority. In addition to panels, workshops and roundtables, it was invigorating to meet with colleagues, partners and allies in the digital and human rights space. Amid a complex geopolitical environment, RightsCon provided the much-needed space to reconnect and strategize on our shared mission and collective advocacy. We asked a three of our colleagues to recapitulate their experience at RightsCon 2025:
Diane Chang (Senior Fellow, Global Elections)
The convening was a powerful, if at times challenging, experience. The undeniable role of the US government in funding and supporting the global ecosystem of human rights and democracy work was a constant thread as news from the US unfolded over the course of the conference. The dismantling of USAID and withholding of funding for institutions like the National Endowment for Democracy shaped many critical discussions about the future of digital rights, while people found community and support among each other in the midst of these unprecedented and shocking developments.
This year as well, this rare gathering facilitated crucial, albeit sometimes difficult, conversations. Hard questions were asked, particularly regarding the role tech companies have played in enabling atrocities. However, this cross-sector dialogue also fostered valuable exchanges of ideas and knowledge. The workshop hosted by Global Majority Research Council, where TGI is a member, at the Trust and Safety Foundation on advancing trust and safety in the Global South was a prime instance of this collaborative cross-sector and transnational learning. There continues to be the need for these dialogues, and I hope each sector will strive to truly understand the needs, challenges, and tradeoffs faced by others, in order to reach more concrete solutions for pressing digital rights problems.
Beyond these broader discussions, there were numerous opportunities for focused learning and collaboration:
- Global DPI Insights: Sharing insights on digital public infrastructure projects in India and Brazil, and exploring their applicability to other DPI initiatives worldwide.
- TGI’s Crucial Work on information integrity: Sharing about TGI’s vital open source intelligence investigation and documentation of state-sanctioned violence in the face of internet shutdowns during Bangladesh’s July 2024 revolution, and sharing best practices and tools with others working on similar issues in Syria, Myanmar, and more.
- Building Global Connections for Future Collaboration: Sharing challenges in operational capacity building with executive directors and leaders of other digital rights nonprofits; connecting with a range of practitioners, from human rights defenders to researchers, to discuss shared future partnerships and collaboration.
In a time of increasing uncertainty, it is imperative that digital rights advocates find new ways to pool resources and efforts. It is equally crucial that governments and companies reaffirm their unwavering support for human rights.
Sams Wahid Shahat (Researcher, Information Integrity)
One of the key takeaways for me was the power of digital forensics in documenting state-sponsored violence and ensuring accountability. Despite facing obstacles like internet shutdowns and data suppression, open-source investigators have developed innovative methods for retrieving crucial evidence.
Similarly, at TGI, the information Integrity team has been working on investigating and preserving evidence from the Bangladesh protests in 2024, collaborating with international organizations and leveraging OSINT tools in fostering accountability and advocacy for justice.
Looking ahead, it’s clear that open-source investigations will play an even greater role in fighting misinformation and securing human rights. The advancements in AI and digital verification techniques will only strengthen our ability to fight for truth and accountability in the digital age.
Afia Jahin (Communications Officer)
Being physically present at RightsCon in Taipei this February felt like a privilege because so many others who had planned to be there could not make it due to the abrupt freezing of many funding sources by the US (and resultant fallout).
Connecting with professionals from so many fields and cultures across the Global South and beyond made it apparent just how universal are the challenges which we all face in our lives and work. Across continents, apprehension against disinformation, the lack of ethics in AI advancement, dissatisfaction with Internet platforms, and inadequate digital laws resonate.
But this consistency in struggles, especially in the Global South, means that we can understand and help each other all the better, despite external pressures such as hostile travel restrictions and funding cuts.
As long as we can get together (even online) to talk, brainstorm, and take action from wherever we reside, we need not feel so hopeless about the state of digital rights in our world.
