RightsCon is the world's leading event on human rights in the digital age.
Hosted by Access Now, RightsCon is where the world’s human rights experts, business leaders, technologists, engineers, investors, activists, and government representatives come together to share ideas, build strategies, showcase new technologies, and create tomorrow’s internet. It is an energizing reminder of the existence of a powerful global digital rights community that is determined to defend human rights and keep the internet open and free.
Convened in locations that are power centers for the internet, RightsCon has begun rotating each year around the world to various global cities. Importantly, our conference programming is shaped by our participants, with an an explicit focus on driving to the outcomes they define. Our goal is to ensure that the RightsCon community affects real and positive change in the world. In March of 2017, we had more than 250 community-led, groundbreaking sessions at RightsCon Brussels. You can find the sessions in our official program.
In 2018, RightsCon will be hosted in Toronto, Canada. To get updates on RightsCon Toronto, be sure to sign up to our newsletter for updates.
Check out the program from RightsCon BrusselsHistory
The first RightsCon took place in Silicon Valley in 2011, and the second, regionally focused conference in Rio in 2012. Both events were sold out, with more than 400 opinion leaders from across the sector and the world attending.
In 2014, we headed back to Silicon Valley, and for the first time, opened up conference programming to the experts: our participants. The product was a stellar program which featured 120 distinct sessions over a period of three days.
In 2015, we held RightsCon in Manila, showcasing the remarkable work being done in the region. You can check out highlights from the Southeast Asia conference here.
RightsCon Silicon Valley 2016 took place on Wednesday, March 30 to Friday, April 1, 2016 at Mission Bay Conference Center in San Francisco, hosting over 1100 participants from 500+ organizations and 84 countries.
RightsCon Brussels took place on March 29 - 31, 2017, and was our largest and most impactful event ever. With 1500 participants from 105 countries and 700+ organizations, the RightsCon community came face to face with European decision makers, impacting policies and practices that will leave a lasting impact on global human rights.
Contact Us
General Info & Sponsorship
Our RightCon Coordinator Nick Dagostino is here to help you out!
+1 888 414 0100
nickd [at] accessnow.org
@rightscon
Press Inquiries
Let us know if you need media information or our media kit!
press [at] accessnow.org
Deji Olukotun
deji [at] accessnow.org
+1 (415) 935-4572
Frequently Asked Questions
Tickets are not yet available for purchase. Register to our newsletter for updates and notices on when tickets will be on sale.
The RightsCon Summit Series is brought to you by Access Now.
Access Now is an international not-for-profit organization dedicated to defending and extending the digital rights of users at risk around the world. By combining innovative policy, global advocacy, and direct technical support, we fight for open and secure communications for all.
We are a team of 40, with local staff in more than 10 locations around the world - Berlin, Brussels, Cordoba, Delhi, London, Manila, Nairobi, New York, San Jose, Tunis, and Washington DC. We maintain four legally incorporated entities - Belgium, Costa Rica, Tunisia, and the United States - with our tech, advocacy, policy, granting, and operations teams distributed across all regions.
Access Now Europe
Access Now is pleased to operate a legally incorporated entity in the city of Brussels, where we are a leading civil society voice that advocates for policies which defend and extend the digital rights of users. Our Brussels team focuses on a broad range of issues at the EU-level, including privacy and data protection, surveillance and national security, privatized enforcement, corporate social responsibility and network neutrality.
You can subscribe to the 'RightsCon Rundown' for email updates on the eventhere!
The RightsCon Code of Conduct is availablehere.
You can find our data usage policyhere
"We were able to share our perspectives on good practices, learn with our diverse audience and meet many new people focused on these issues. RightsCon provided an excellent forum for this discussion and we’re looking forward to keeping the dialogue going!"
Nicole Karlebach from Yahoo!
"What a gathering, so many people and nations represented. I'm sure it was hard work, and I hope your team is proud."
amalia deloney from Media Democracy Fund
"So often conferences are either too tightly controlled ( and thus boring) or out of control ( and thus chaotic). It’s hard to find the sweet spot in the middle but you did it. I enjoyed the sessions I was part of and saw and talked with many great people."
Mike Posner, Jerome Kohlberg Professor of Ethics & Finance and Co-director Center for Business and Human Rights, NYU Stern School of Business
"RightsCon is the most important event of the year for Meedan - no other conference manages to bring such a talented and diverse set of social tech, digital rights policy, and open internet advocacy groups together like RightsCon."
Ed Bice from Meedan
"Thank you for listening to us and facilitating connections. By organizing RightsCon and bringing together people from all over the world, you’ve helped create many future solutions."
Haben Girma, White House Champion of Change, Forbes 30 under 30 leader, and BBC Women of Africa Hero
"… a truly impressive event that clearly demonstrates how NGOs have become redoubtable players in cyberspace."
Uri Rosenthal, Dutch Special Envoy Cyberspace and Former Dutch Foreign Minister
"Having human contact between the people who run the [Silicon Valley] companies is very important and timely for most countries that are going through changes, especially those that are struggling trying to achieve democracy in regimes that are not willing to change."
Rosebell Kagumire, Uganda
"RightsCon was great. Incredibly substantive, fascinating people doing amazing things. Thanks for making it such a worthwhile trip."
David Kaye, Special Rapporteur, UN
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