DACSA (Digital Accountability Collective South Asia) expresses deep concern over
the cancellation of RightsCon, a critical global gathering that has long served as a
vital platform for advancing digital rights, accountability, and collective resistance
against growing authoritarianism in digital spaces. At a time when governments and
corporations are increasingly deploying surveillance, censorship, internet shutdowns,
AI-driven discrimination, and attacks on freedom of expression, spaces like
RightsCon are more necessary than ever.

RightsCon has been one of the few truly inclusive forums where activists, journalists,
technologists, academics, grassroots organizers, and marginalized communities
from the Global Majority can come together to shape a people-centered digital
future. Such gatherings create opportunities for solidarity, knowledge-sharing, and
coordinated action to challenge digital repression and defend human dignity,
democratic participation, privacy, and freedom of expression.

The ongoing global digital crisis is not merely technological; it is a crisis of human
values, rights, and justice. In this context, the loss of a convening space like RightsCon
weakens collective efforts to build accountable and rights-respecting digital
ecosystems. DACSA reaffirms the urgent need for inclusive, accessible, and effective
global platforms that center the voices and experiences of the Global Majority.