Our key takeaways from RightsCon 2025

Last week, the Thomson Reuters Foundation joined human rights advocates, business leaders, journalists and technologists at RightsCon 2025 in Taiwan to discuss pressing issues threatening human rights in a digital age. ?

In an increasingly digital world, safe and equitable access to technology is critical to building societies that are free, fair and informed, yet just under a third of the global population remain offline. Global collaboration efforts to harness the positive impact that technology can deliver for humanity while mitigating its harmful consequences are hampered by growing political polarisation, retreating democratic institutions, and increasing geopolitical and economic tensions. And with exponential technological advancements comes unprecedented and evolving challenges, making the future unpredictable. ?

From a week of engaging fireside chats, hands-on workshops and strategic roundtables, here are our takeaways:

1. Transparency, accountability and regulation of AI are not copy-paste jobs?

The?acquisition and deployment of AI tools across all sectors are mired in concerns around transparency and accountability. This is particularly pertinent for governments, where technological efficiencies are expected to be harnessed in the public interest and the repercussions of getting it wrong may be catastrophic. Adriano Mancinelli , Head of Delivery for TrustLaw, moderated a panel discussion focusing on this issue across global majority countries.

The rich conversation unpacked the complexities and nuances that governments must navigate when introducing regulations in different jurisdictions; the harmful consequences of an over-reliance on AI; and the scope and flexibility to apply the law where specific regulation may be lacking. The panel stemmed from the report ‘Towards Algorithmic Transparency in the Public Sector in Latin America’, authored by the Instituto de Investigaciones Jurídicas at the University of Mexico and coordinated by Article19 Mexico. Thomson Reuters Foundation facilitated pro bono support for the report by sourcing law firms that contributed to the report on a free basis in five Latin American countries, through our partnership with The Patrick J. McGovern Foundation .

2. Innovative approaches and tools are crucial to keeping independent news alive?

Independent media is a fundamental pillar of any democratic society and a critical service for an informed citizenry.? Global press freedom has worsened over the past decade, and UNESCO reports that 85% of the world’s population has experienced a decline in press freedom in the last five years alone. Journalists and news outlets around the world face restrictions linked not only to how and what they publish, but about whom they write. ?

Nick Slater heard from journalists about the innovative approaches they use to navigate censorship tactics deployed by governments, to ensure their reporting is reaching those who need it most. Many media outlets are building tools such as Outline VPN into their apps and websites so that audiences can access the content without having to download VPNs themselves, making the content more widely accessible if their website is blocked. ?

Advanced VPN technologies continue to be the key tool for independent media to reach audiences in censored environments, but there needs to be investment to expand this and ensure the tolls are more widely accessible. ?

3. Digital literacy is essential to counter disinformation?

How can we discern what is accurate if we don’t understand how we might be manipulated online??

The proliferation of misinformation and disinformation, supercharged by the growing sophistication of artificial intelligence, has made it increasingly?difficult to distinguish disinformation from the truth. This enables malign actors to deceive entire populations at-scale, with widespread misinformation and disinformation discrediting experts and?undermining the urgent action needed to tackle global crises. ?

Digital literacy is crucial in fighting disinformation; it helps people identify false information but doesn't necessarily stop them from spreading it.?54% of people in the EU aged 16 to 74 had at least basic overall digital skills in 2021, but there is significant variation between countries. Understanding why people believe and share false information is essential to address the spread of mis/disinformation on social media.?

4. Access to the law is essential to building a resilient civil society and tackling global challenges?

The conversations at the conference highlighted a pressing reality: as technological progress accelerates at an unprecedented pace, transforming economies and societies, there is an imperative need for stronger cross-sectoral collaboration to harness its benefits safely and effectively while mitigating the risks. Joanita G. Britto Menon highlighted how delegates discussed the need to collaborate as a joined up human rights movement, where civil society organisations are consistently involved in critical conversations with private sector and governments and bolstered by legal support to build a resilient civil society. Eleanor Chalmers shared optimism that despite growing attacks both online and offline, legal challenges demonstrate that progress can be made to counter lawfare against journalists. This is an essential pillar of the Foundation’s Access to Law work, through which we collaborate with lawyers, civil society and media organisations to make the law more accessible to those who need it most.?

The Foundation uses the combined power of journalism and the law, together with data intelligence, to build global awareness of critical issues faced by humanity, inspire collective leadership and help shape a prosperous world where no one is left behind. To learn more about our work, please visit our website and sign up to our newsletter to stay up to date about our activities. ?

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