What do your family vacation pictures and your professional life have in common? Your phone. In this digital age, many more lines are connected than ever: your bank account and your social media accounts, your private life and your office life, your purchase choices and adverts you get from corporations, your daily habits and your social media content suggestions. The list is long. 

It’s often difficult to trace how much data we give away—willingly or unknowingly—who collects it, and how they use it. While technology remains a revolutionary creation, changing lives in unimaginable ways, its downsides cannot be undermined. Mitigating these harms requires both individual and collective approaches, emphasising privacy and data protection. This will be the subject of focus on Wednesday, February 26, 2025, at RightsCon in Taipei, Taiwan. 

At the  global leading event on human rights in the digital age hosted by Access Now, Paradigm Initiative’s (PIN) Senior Manager for Partnerships and Engagements, Thobekile Matimbe will join other stakeholders in a roundtable discussion themed ‘Reimagining balancing individual and collective approaches to privacy and data protection and data-driven harms.’ The session will count as one of multiple ones featuring PIN team members at the annual gathering. 

Besides Thobekile, other PIN team members participating virtually and in person at RightsCon include ‘Gbenga Sesan, Executive Director; Judith Ogutu, Communications Manager, Miriam Beatrice Wanjiru, Programmes Officer for Eastern Africa; and Bridgette Ndlovu, Partnerships and Engagements Officer. 

The team’s participation will be an opportunity for PIN to highlight its contribution to digital rights and inclusion efforts in the Global South, and add its voice to the global conversation on making the internet a safe space for all. 

Curious about these conversations on the future of digital rights? catch PIN’s team members in action at RightsCon 2025 from February 24-27, 2025: 

Tuesday February 25,

Courting Digital Authoritarianism: The Global South Strategic Litigation Handbook to Internet and Platform Shutdowns 

Time: 10:45-11:45PM Taipei Standard Time / 2:45 – 3:45 PM UTC.

Participating team member: Thobekile Matimbe

Governments globally are increasingly resorting to internet and platform shutdowns, disproportionately impacting freedom of expression and access to information online. At this critical juncture, it is imperative to reflect on the successes and failures of judicial outcomes, re-strategize, and learn from peers globally. The session will also incorporate insights from international and European human rights bodies. This will be followed by group discussions to analyse effective theories and tactics employed; obstacles encountered; models for incorporating community groups; and lessons learned from their experiences. As this session concerns litigation strategy, speakers and participants are welcome to share strategies at their comfort level, with confidentiality maintained for all sensitive information, while strategies will be documented and collected using an online form.

Empowering Collaboration: Bridging the Gap Between Trust & Safety Teams and Civil Society in the Global Majority 

Time: 11:30-12:30 PM Taipei Standard Time / 3:30 AM – 4:30 AM UTC

Participating team member: Thobekile Matimbe

Advancing Digital Inclusion for Women with Disabilities across Africa and Beyond 

February 25 at 15:15 PM Taipei Time / 07:15 AM UTC

Participating team member: Thobekile Matimbe

Algorithmic Transparency in the Acquisition and Deployment of Emerging Technologies by Global Majority Governments 

Technological advancements have deeply infiltrated both public and private domains, revolutionizing governmental operations. States have found in emerging technologies tools to streamline processes and deliver public services. However, the widespread deployment of Artificial Intelligence and other technologies on decision-making across Global Majority governments has sparked concerns regarding transparency and accountability responsibilities. In regions like Mexico and Central America, AI systems in boarder control and the procurement of surveillance software against journalists and activists raise significant debate. Through the session participants will be encouraged to share examples including research developed around the legalities surrounding AI governance, it’s impact on society and best practices that can be adopted to suit different contexts.

Time: 2:00 – 3:00 PM Taipei Standard Time / 6:00 – 7:00 AM UTC

Participating Team Member: Thobekile Matimbe

Connectivity as Aid Digital Inclusion or Digital Capitalism 

In recent years, there has been a rapid growth in philanthropic tech initiatives geared toward providing connectivity and enhancing the digital inclusion of forcibly displaced communities like refugees. Targeting developing parts of the world, these initiatives often bring together multinational tech companies, governmental, and humanitarian/development agencies seeking to bolster the development of technological solutions and establishment of connectivity infrastructure in humanitarian settings. While these initiatives promise to promote digital rights and inclusion for forcibly displaced communities – including the often marginalized like refugee women – the prominent role of large tech companies and sometimes conflicting interests of the collaborating actors raise concerns over the actual implications of these initiatives on underserved refugee communities and low-income countries that largely host them. This session will be devoted to understanding the ethical and practical implications of collaborative digital inclusion initiatives on forcibly displaced communities, particularly those in the Global South.

Time: 9:00 -10:00 AM Taipei Standard Time / 1:00 – 2:00 AM UTC

Participating team member: Bridgette Ndlovu

Algorithmic Transparency in the Acquisition and Deployment of Emerging Technologies by Global Majority Governments

Technological advancements have deeply infiltrated both public and private domains, revolutionizing governmental operations. States have found in emerging technologies tools to streamline processes and deliver public services. However, the widespread deployment of Artificial Intelligence and other technologies on decision-making across Global Majority governments has sparked concerns regarding transparency and accountability responsibilities. Governments must implement measures to ensure the ethical technology acquisition with a human rights perspective and use of technologies, alongside robust regulatory frameworks to uphold transparency and accountability. Through the session participants will be encouraged to share examples including research developed around the legalities surrounding AI governance, it’s impact on society and best practices that can be adopted to suit different contexts.

Time: 2:00 – 3:00 PM Taipei Standard Time / 6:00 – 7:00 AM UTC

Participating team member: Miriam Beatrice

Wednesday 26 February

Battling Shadows: The global struggles against attacks on journalists

In the digital age coupled with emerging technologies, the journalism profession and journalists at large are facing challenges. While technology-assisted tools and social media platforms offer unprecedented opportunities for newsgathering, storytelling, and audience engagement, they also present significant threats like harassment, surveillance, and issues of deepfake. It is against this background that this session explores the multifaceted ways in which technology is been used to undermine journalistic integrity and personal safety while discussing strategies to counteract these threats.

Time: 9:00 – 10:00 AM Taipei Standard Time / 1:00 – 2:00 AM UTC

Participating team member:  ‘Gbenga Sesan

Collective strategy session: The road to WSIS+20 and other Internet governance-related processes  

Time: 2:00 – 3:00 PM Taipei Standard Time / 6:00 – 7:00 AM UTC

Participating team member: Thobekile Matimbe

Thursday, February 27 

Accountability on the Net: building tools for a meaningful multistakeholder cooperation 

State and non-state actors have made numerous commitments to promote open, free and safe Internet. In addition to the existing international law, these commitments are often expressed in political declarations, such as the Global Digital Compact and the Declaration for the Future of the Internet, among others. Yet, the implementation of these commitments often remains unchecked, hindering accountability. For the past 8 months, the EUI has been working on a resource that would allow international community to assess the trajectory that different countries are on when it comes to the implementation of these commitments. A working name for this tool is ‘Internet Accountability Compass’. During the workshop, key indicators and components of accountability on the Internet will be explored through the framework of an ‘Internet Accountability Compass’, currently under development by the Global Initiative on the Future of the Internet (GIFI). 

Time: 9:00 – 10:00 AM Taipei Standard Time / 1:00 – 2:00 AM UTC

Participating team member: ‘Gbenga Sesan

Power in numbers and collaboration: #KeepItOn Community Meetup

The #KeepItOn campaign/coalition is growing in numbers and will be bringing together its members participating at RightsCon in person and online to connect and catch up informally while discussing pertinent issues about the growth of the campaign and coalition. The goal is to provide a relaxed and informal space for new and old members to interact among themselves while exchanging information about the work of the coalition and how to further advance its fight against internet shutdowns and growing digital repression around the world. RightsCon 2025, would also provide an opportunity and space for the coalition to brainstorm how it would like to mark its 10th anniversary in 2026.

Time: 10:15 – 11:15 AM Taipei Standard Time / 2:15 – 3:15 AM UTC

Participating team member: ‘Gbenga Sesan

Local vs. Global: Equitable Non-English Content Moderation

Individuals who speak languages other than English are routinely subject to inequitable and inconsistent moderation, due in part to lack of investment in global content moderation. Part of the problem is the lack of high-quality training datasets in most of the world’s 7000 languages. Without access to a range of high-quality training datasets in a language, automated content moderation systems that companies use are more likely to be error-prone and burden individuals’ ability to speak freely. This session will convene the Center for Democracy and Technoloy’s partnering organisations, language experts, digital rights advocates, and Trust & Safety staff attending RightsCon to gain input on the case studies developed and solicit participation on how best to create guidance and recommendations based on these case studies of companies building systems in low-resource languages.

Time: 9:00 – 10:00 AM Taiwan Time / 1:00 – 2:00 AM UTC

Participating team member: Miriam Wanjiru

Crafting strategy, building community! Meeting of the Global Encryption Coalition (GEC)

Time: 11:30 – 12:30 AM Taipei Standard Time / 3:30 PM – 4:30 PM UTC

Participating team member: Thobekile Matimbe

Open Internet for Democracy (Side Session)

Time: 3:00 PM Taipei Time / 7:00 AM UTC

Participating team member: Thobekile Matimbe