My #RightsCon2021 Experience

RightsCon which is a summit convened by AccessNow is all about human rights in the digital age.

This is my second rodeo as I attended Rightscon 2020 virtually from Lagos, Nigeria.

Out of the plethora of programs, I focused on Content Moderation and Open Internet, especially in the Global South. While anticipating the event, I didn’t think Nigeria would be on the list of countries affected by Internet Shutdown

Here are my major takeaways from the conference:

Content Moderation In Africa

Here, the discussion centered on inconsistencies of rule enforcement and safety features for users on Big Tech platforms.

You can follow this link for a summary of one of the programs.

Tech platforms have to invest more in the global south. not necessarily setting up physical offices in these regions but investing in understanding context and stakeholder engagement.

Internet Shutdowns

Nigeria has just shut off access to Twitter following the deletion of President Buhari’s tweet which breached Twitter safety rules.

VPN providing platforms talked about how they intend to make accessibility easier for citizens of countries subjected to open internet bans.

I got an insight into how some circumvention tool providers track countries affected by internet shutdowns. A Psiphon delegate disclosed that whenever they get a surge in app downloads, this acts as an indicator that there has been a major event and they proceed to investigate and log the issue.

Emphasis was also made to strengthen existing laws to challenge the perpetrators who ordered these internet shutdowns and also increasing sanctions.

Big Tech Alternatives

Due to clashes between governments and social media companies on issues bordering on censorship, data privacy, and taxes, countries have started advocating for homegrown social media platforms.

Vietnam currently has a homegrown messaging platform- ZALO which is the biggest and surpasses Facebook’s number of users in the country

Closer to home, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) is also encouraging alternatives to global social media platforms

We might see a lot of countries adopt this approach in an attempt to challenge the monopoly of Big Tech.

My Rightscon experience albeit virtual was fun and a great learning experience for me.

Pets didn’t miss out as they had their dedicated hashtag to participate in the event — #PetsOfRightscon.

Special thanks to the rightscon team for the connectivity support and Rosemary Ajayi for introducing me to the program.

I am looking forward to the next edition of the program and I hope we’ll be over this pandemic by then.