Many rutile-type materials are characterized by a softness in shear with pressure which is coupled to a Raman-active librational motion. Combining direct studies of anion positions in SnO2 with measurements of its electronic properties, we find a correlation between O sublattice disorder between 5 and 10 GPa and an anomalous decrease up to 4 orders of magnitude in electrical resistance. Hypotheses into the atomistic nature of the phenomenon are evaluated via ab initio calculations guided by extended X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy analysis, and the most likely mechanism is found to be the displacement of single anions resulting from the pressure-induced softening of the librational mode. On the basis of this mechanism, we propose that the same behavior should feature across all materials exhibiting a rutile → CaCl2 phase transition and that conductivity in other rutile-type materials could be facilitated at ambient pressure by appropriate design of devices to enhance defects of this nature.