Last month, the world’s largest conference on human rights in the digital age, RightsCon, was shut down by the Zambian government just days before it was due to start.
Sessions scheduled for Lusaka addressed some of the most pressing intersections of technology, sexuality, sexual rights and sexual justice: from artificial intelligence and digital censorship to the future of marginalized communities navigating an increasingly hostile digital landscape.
In light of the sudden cancellation of RightsCon 2026, Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters (SRHM), in partnership with Queensland University of Technology (QUT) and partner organisations, is bringing these critical conversations online.
This webinar series ensures that work is not lost, but revitalized.
S*x in the Shadows of Big Tech
June 15, 2026
Social media companies like Meta, X, TikTok and YouTube routinely suppress sex education, harm reduction and health promotion content through their automated content moderation systems. Their restrictive policies and practices make it extremely difficult for sexual health, rights and life-saving justice to reach people who need it most.
At the same time, these platforms are tolerant of sexual harassment and racist, transphobic, misogynist and pornophobic hate speech. To compound this, they then peddle hoaxes and misinformation and conspiracy theories, both AI-generated and man-made, about sexual and reproductive health issues, including abortion pills, contraception, and puberty blockers.
By sharing both their experiences of censorship and their strategies of resistance, the speakers seek to spark ongoing conversations across sectors, regions and communities about how to protect sexual health and sexual rights online.
MEDIATOR:
Dr. Zahra Stardust: Queer femme writer, scholar, lawyer and artist | Co-chair of the Sexual Rights Committee of the World Association for Sexual Health Member of the Advisory Group on Sexual Health and Well-Being of the World Health Organization | Postdoctoral Researcher at Queensland University of Technology
SPEAKERS:
- Kali Sudra: Executive Director, European Sex Workers’ Rights Alliance
- Mar Diz: Cybersecurity and privacy legal advisor and digital rights advocate. Co-founder of Espacio Seguro LGBTQIA+ Burgos
- Maria Predevil: Content marketing writer for femtech, sex positive and women’s health brands
- Martha Dimitratou: Founder and CEO of Repro Uncensored
Emotional Capitalism and Artificial Intimacy
June 22, 2026
This session examines the rise of “artificial intimacy” and emotional capitalism as the next frontier of artificial intelligence. In 2023, the World Health Organization created an international committee on loneliness, labeling it a global public health issue. Their 2025 report found that 1 in 6 people worldwide experience loneliness – more common among young people and in lower-income countries.
In the midst of this crisis, digital technologies that often exacerbate isolation are now selling “artificial empathy” as a cure, promising flawless, servile affection on demand. After trying to model traits like intelligence and creativity, AI is moving toward empathy.
Far from harmless, this artificial care is based on real-world consequences and human trauma, relying on the exploitation of the human workforce of underpaid and overexposed workers who disinfect AI systems, as well as enormous ecological costs.
MEDIATOR:
Dr. Zahra Stardust: Queer femme writer, scholar, lawyer and artist | Co-chair of the Sexual Rights Committee of the World Association for Sexual Health Member of the Advisory Group on Sexual Health and Well-Being of the World Health Organization | Postdoctoral Researcher at Queensland University of Technology
SPEAKERS:
Michaela Mantenia: Known as “Abogamer,” Micaela Mantegna (AR) is a video game attorney and activist known for her expertise in digital ethics, augmented reality (XR) policy, and the complex intersections of artificial intelligence, creativity, and copyright law.
Dianela Gahn: Sociologist and interaction designer working on urban research, gender, sociotechnical systems and with a growing interest in artificial intelligence governance
Defending Sexual and Reproductive Rights in the Wake of Rights Repeal
In this blog, Dr Zahra Stardust reflects on SRHR advocacy following the cancellation of RightsCon 2026.
With 5 days of programming, 450 sessions in 18 thematic categories, over 2,600 in-person attendees and an additional 1,100 online attendees, RightsCon represented more than 150 countries and 750 institutions gathered for the annual summit.
“RightsCon may not be meeting in Lusaka this month. But the networks, relationships, coalitions and collective expertise it was designed to foster will be strengthened.
If nothing else, it will boost our organization and boost our momentum.
The reaction is an indicator of the strength of our movements.”
Read the blog here
RightsCon Canceled: SRHR, Digital Rights, Abuse of Power, and Demanding Accountability
This SRHM Podcast chat explores the critical SRHR and digital rights agenda to be addressed at RightsCon, including censorship and suppression of SRHR information, shadowbanning, surveillance, platform governance, cyber-violence, artificial intelligence, digital privacy, and shrinking urban space.
The discussion reflects how marginalized communities—including sex workers, LGBTQIA+ communities, racialized communities, and SRHR advocates—are disproportionately targeted through digital suppression and exclusion, while remaining at the forefront of resistance, movement building, and alternative organizing strategies.
The episode further examines broader issues of geopolitical power, accountability, and the abuse of political power to suppress spaces where evidence, advocacy, and international solidarity converge.
It reflects the financial, emotional, strategic and political impact of the cancellation on communities and organizations that had invested months of work in shaping the RightsCon program and building collaboration between the movements.
Watch or listen here
