Taipei has been selected as the host city for this year’s RightsCon, an international conference focused on digital rights to be held later this month, because of its protection of democracy, freedom and human rights, the event’s organizer said.
“For us, it was a natural step” to choose Taiwan as the place to host the four-day summit, said Alejandro Mayoral Banos, the executive director of Access Now, which runs RightsCon.
Banos praised Taiwan’s strong commitment to protecting democracy, freedom and human rights, and highlighted the “momentum” the nation has built up in recent years after hosting several major human rights community gatherings.
Screengrab from RightsCon’s Web site
It would be the first time RightsCon is held in East Asia since its inception in 2011.
From Feb. 24 to 27, more than 550 discussion sessions would be held in Taipei and online, bringing together activists, journalists, government representatives and business leaders from around the world to address pressing issues related to human rights in the digital age.
Notable speakers at this year's event include Australian Human Rights Commissioner Lorraine Finlay, OECD tech official Rashad Abelson, and Tanzanian Parliamentarian Neema Lugangira.
While many of the issues to be addressed would be global, the summit would also seek to highlight East Asian perspectives by including stakeholders and policymakers from the region, including Taiwan, Banos said.
Taiwanese non-governmental organizations are also to take part in the event, including Amnesty International Taiwan and the Taiwan Network Information Center, he said.
The National Human Rights Commission would cohost a workshop with its Philippine counterpart, he added.
Participants at the forum would discuss personal data protection, sustainable development and the challenges of artificial intelligence (AI), while exploring ways to safeguard communities at risk and bridging the digital divide, Banos said.
Those discussions are crucial for a global digital rights movement that has experienced tremendous disruptions due to emerging new technologies and a shift in the geopolitical environment, he said.
While generative AI and space data have introduced many positive changes to society, technology could result in “very negative consequences,” Banos said.
Technologies “can be tools for liberation, but they can also be tools for repression,” he added.
Harnessing technology for positive causes requires increasing public awareness, building capacity in communities at risk and fostering partnerships with tech companies, he said, adding that that was what Access Now has been doing.
He has headed the group since October last year.
Capacity building involves working with at-risk communities, such as activists, journalists, as well as LGBTQI+ and indigenous peoples, to enhance their digital literacy, and provide them with tools to protect themselves against surveillance and other cyber threats, Banos said.
The more complex part of Access Now’s work is engaging with tech companies, he said, adding that while human rights groups have often had a tense relationship with the tech community, he considered getting them involved crucial to the effort.
The goal is to identify the human rights “champions” within those companies and collaborate with them, he said, referring to those willing to advocate for ethical standards and human-centered policies.
That has become increasingly challenging, because of the “new political landscape” amid the rise of figures such as US President Donald Trump and other firebrands in global politics.
For example, two weeks before Trump returned to the White House, Meta Platforms Inc, owner of Facebook, Instagram and Threads, announced its decision to scrap its fact-checking program in the US and reduce restrictions on discussions of contentious topics.
Those new developments “are changing the entire dynamic of how we interact with tech companies,” Banos said.
However, Banos said he remains confident about engaging with tech companies and civil society groups, and pushing for human rights initiatives.
This year’s RightsCon, where tech giants such as Google Inc would be on board, is one such example.
Describing himself as a “translator” between the two worlds in which he has expertise and experience, Banos said that only by not excluding either side could one move agendas forward more effectively.
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