Most people do not think of Silicon Valley as a battleground for human rights issues. That’s exactly what Access was hoping to change by organizing RightsCon— a conference that brought together Silicon Valley companies like Facebook, Twitter, and Google with human rights advocates from around the world.
Technology companies are finding themselves at the forefront of complex human rights issues. Their services are increasingly being used by revolutionaries, protesters and human rights groups in nearly every country. Caught between trying to protect their users and complying with a growing number of mandates from local governments, Silicon Valley finds itself in a unique position wherein companies are inadvertently shaping global human rights policy.
Brett Solomon, Executive Director at Access, addresses attendees at RightsCon 2011. Michael Posner, Assistant Secretary of State An ad-hoc groups convenes to discuss human rights issues at RightsCon 2011. An ad-hoc groups convenes to discuss human rights issues at RightsCon 2011. The Politics of Internet Freedom Roundtable lead by John Markoff of the New York Times Rosebell Kagumire as she prepares her remarks at RightsCon 2011. Alex Macgillivray, General Counsel at Twitter, explains why the tweets must flow. Conference attendees working on their laptops between sessions. Michael Posner, Assistant Secretary of State at RightsCon 2011 Michael Posner, Assistant Secretary of State Widney Brown, Senior Director of International Law and Policy at Amnesty International Joe Sullivan, Chief Security Officer at Facebook Lisa Emelia Svensson, Ambassador for Corporate Social Responsibility at the Swedish Government Mitchell Baker, Chair at Mozilla Foundation Brett Solomon speaking in front of a live webcast. John Markoff moderates questions from the audience at RightsCon 2011. Imad Bazzi, Award Winning Lebanese – Middle-Eastern Blogger & Cyber Activist Michael Meehan, Chair of the Global Internet Freedom Committee at Broadcasting Board of Governors A row of conference attendees works on their laptop computers. Rosebell Kagumire, Multimedia Journalist in Uganda a panel discusses how to incorporate human rights into the design of Internet services. Robert Scoble moderating a panel at RightsCon 2011. Robert Scoble moderating a panel at RightsCon 2011. Rosebell Kagumire, Multimedia Journalist in Uganda Bennett Freeman, Senior Vice President at Calvert Investments Bob Boorstin, Director of Public Policy at Google