Last year, I had the privilege to join the in-person gathering of the @migrationtechmonitor.com Fellowship, an initiative that supports people with lived experiences of migration. I also joined some of them on this podcast discussing technology and injustice open.spotify.com/episode/5FAj...

On the hellish detention and deportation system built by EU countries. With quotes from the current and the former German chancellors expressing their commitment to the inhumane cruelty of this apparatus, described here in forensic detail.

As the EU rushes to simplify AI regulation, what are the consequences for effective redress? On 19 February, experts from Hermes Center (Italy) and @cdteu.org will discuss it in a webinar + discussion titled “Effective Redress for AI Harms in Europe”. 👉🏻 Register here: lnkd.in/ez8uvA7N

There is political momentum behind social media bans for children and teenagers. But what are we trying to ban? Exploitative business models or adolescence? A nuanced analysis by @lucypurdon.bsky.social courageeverywhere.substack.com/p/lets-ban-s...

FOIA data shows ICE employees accused of harassment and abusing law-enforcement databases (including Palantir's systems) were often disciplined unevenly, with outcomes limited to verbal counseling, written reprimands, or short suspensions. The records are here:

I filed this FOIA after publishing this investigation into ICE agents abusing law-enforcement databases. www.wired.com/story/ice-ag.... Those records are here: airtable.com/appxK2tDF0YA...

NEW: A hacktivist scraped than half a million payment records from a stalkerware and consumer surveillance tech maker, exposing customers' email addresses and partial card numbers. The hackvisit told us they did it because they think these companies are "creepy."

Ok, you can stop texting me, I saw the Ring ad. Troubling things about it 🧵: -The long awaited (much warned about) intro of “AI” recognition. It starts w/ searching for a “brown dog” but means the tech is there for lisence plate reading, face recognition, searching for suspects by description, etc

It's not often we get to report on hopeful news Alaa Hamoudi won in the EU's top court against Frontex! This opens doors for many survivors of Frontex pushbacks. @bdeeb.bsky.social tells how he reported on Alaa's case back in 2020 with @bellingcat.com. And how this evidence ended up in court.

🔴 BREAKING: Labour Together paid controversial PR firm £30k to investigate journalists who were digging into how its undeclared funding Reporters from Sunday Times, Guardian and other outlets targetted *And* Morgan McSweeney knew about it Full story: democracyforsale.substack.com/p/exclusive-...

This week's fatal collision between a Greek coast guard vessel and a migrant boat off the island of Chios has once again brought European maritime enforcement practices under scrutiny, raising questions about accountability and  balance between border control and the protection of human life at sea.

"We misunderstand China to our own detriment. The questions Chinese netizens have asked themselves for years are becoming questions many more of us must ask today." Looking forward to reading this book (thanks @karenhao.bsky.social for the recommendation) restofworld.org/2026/wall-da...

The Cranston Inquiry has found that "loss of life was avoidable" in HM Coastguard's response to the mass drowning in Nov 2021,in which 33 people lost their lives. I spoke to a senior coastguard who described 20-hour days, understaffed, overworked. "Intolerable" indeed. share.google/IXhupBVNXx2Z...

As ICE uses Palantir tech to find neighborhoods to raid and Flock cameras track people across the US, how can you protect yourself? @jasonkoebler.bsky.social + @josephcox.bsky.social take your questions in an AMA today at 12 pm ET. Get your questions in now: www.reddit.com/r/technology...

Sharing this reflection by @naomilott.bsky.social - and @ginasue.bsky.social's comment: "social media bans don't work and they take the pressure off companies to improve their products." Pedro Sanchez's initiative to counter Big Tech superpower is laudable but how you do it is crucial.

We’re opening a small round of support for Myanmar journalists who could really use a hand. We can support up to eight people, and we want to do this as thoughtfully and meaningfully as possible. Please help us spread the word within your networks.

ICE has weapons of war... www.nytimes.com/video/us/100... ...and surveillance: www.nytimes.com/2026/01/30/t... ... including face recognition app Clearview AI. In 2024, DHS was only using Clearview for child exploitation investigations. Now use includes investigating "attacks on law enforcement."

Lucila Rodríguez-Alarcón directora de la Fundación porCausa: “Lo que te asegura el orden es la regularización. Ni las vallas electrificadas ni la presencia militar” @lucilamaravillas.bsky.social @porcausa.org elpais.com/podcasts/hoy...

Este es un día emocionante. Desde @porcausa.org‬⁩ hemos acompañado con respeto y admiración lo que solo puede ser considerada una victoria de la comunidad migrante. Por fin, #RegularizaciónYA. elpais.com/espana/2026-...

Massive long-term privacy implications. "License plate readers use high-speed cameras to photograph cars and store that data in commercial or government databases. ICE officers can pull up a vehicle’s movement history" www.washingtonpost.com/technology/i...

ICE's Alternatives to Detention programme is said to be "more humane" – but for Juliana and her children, it means living under constant pressure. Read the new blog post by @gesanchez.bsky.social and Juliana R. S. ⤵️ blogs.law.ox.ac.uk/border-crimi...

🚨 Exclusive: Tony Blair isn’t just a big fan of AI — he's now trying to build and sell AI tools to governments Tony Blair Institute staff have described the plan as 'insane' and compared it to Palantir New by D4S and @lighthousereports.com 🧵 democracyforsale.substack.com/p/blair-bids...

"This was not the first time I’d interviewed a displaced, dispossessed person who was tacitly asking me to recognize their humanity. It never got easier." from @lisang.bsky.social newlinesmag.com/reportage/wh...

If you're new here and happen to see this, here's a Critical Tech starter pack, full of interesting folk to follow go.bsky.app/VFxSES6 And if you have a small account (<10k followers) and would like to be added for visibility, let me know! (Although response times may be slow)

New: we've obtained material explaining how an ICE surveillance system, called Webloc, works. Draw shape on a map, see all phones available there, follow them home. All without warrant “This is a very dangerous tool in the hands of an out-of-control agency.” www.404media.co/inside-ices-...

AI is big business at Europe’s borders Exemptions for research and growing militarisation of border policy across Europe are creating lucrative opportunities. Defence firms benefit most and now research institutes in Switzerland are also cashing in. www.swissinfo.ch/eng/human-ri...

Talk about bad companies (Osborne stays a luminous example of a reverse benchmark) www.reuters.com/business/ope...

Important read here. www.irishtimes.com/opinion/2025...

"It’s extraction disguised as partnership, where protective language exists but enforcement mechanisms don’t." John-Allan Namu on the Kenya-US Health Pact and language, intent, and how to re-imagine what health systems and economies could be. www.theelephant.info/analysis/202...

"What Mitsotakis sells as a “success story” is a classic regime of accumulation: EU money, cheap labor, and privatized public goods generate healthy returns for banks, construction conglomerates, and hotel chains, while the social wage is stripped back even further." Spot on @gsamaras.bsky.social

Fuori una nuova puntata di #Newsroom, il nostro podcast settimanale. Ep 68 - L’Italia sostiene il piano della Libia per costruire 70 nuovi centri per i rimpatri volontari. I misteri di Arkenu, la compagnia che ridisegna il potere petrolifero libico 🎧 Ascolta #Newsroom ora ⬇️

Sabato è uscita #Muckrakers e in questo nuovo episodio e insieme a Gabriele Ciraolo copriamo come la Fifa abbia deciso di difendere gli interessi economici delle società. Ci si può iscrivere qui: irpimedia.irpi.eu/newsletter/

And I fear the UK isn’t far off doing something similar, despite the clear dangers people face www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home...

Where have we got to when a European govt is telling Afghans who are at risk of being killed for work they did for said govt that they will not be brought to safety as promised because there’s “no longer any political interest” in helping them? Terrifying shift www.theguardian.com/world/2025/d...

ICE is using smartwatches to track pregnant women, even during labor: ‘She was so afraid they would take her baby’

Nelson Mandela died 12 years ago. In 1995 the UK government rejected his personal appeal to impose oil sanctions on Nigeria after its military regime executed nine environmental activists — as it wanted to protect oil company Shell’s commercial interests. www.declassifieduk.org/revealed-bri...

NEW — I put together a list of independent journalism subscriptions that would make great holiday gifts. From music to politics, astronomy to alcohol, tech to social justice, there’s something for [almost] everyone. Support indie media *and* surprise and delight your loved ones! My guide:

The Authoritarian Stack reveals what we already suspected: corporations have become the OS of U.S. governance. Cloud computing, AI, defense, satellites—all privatized. Unaccountable boards write the rules now. www.authoritarian-stack.info

💰 €58-64k annually FTE 🕐 0.5 freelance contract 🏡 Flexible and remote working 🚆 20 travel days per year 🌍 Open to residents of Council of Europe countries, Russia or Belarus journalismarena.eu/collaborativ...

Are you an early-career professional who is passionate about investigative journalism? Are you constantly curious about new ways of doing journalism and making it reach critical audiences? You might just be the fellow we are looking for.

Un gruppo di deputati della maggioranza ha citato il piano per realizzare 70 centri per i rimpatri in Libia in una mozione approvata dal parlamento e dal governo. Sarebbe già stato discusso anche con il ministro Piantedosi. 🧵

NEW REPORT: The hostile environment is coded into the digital immigration system. Migrants are stressed out by this complex and faulty system. Access to housing, work and services hangs in the balance with little support from the Home Office. Read more ⬇️ www.openrightsgroup.org/press-releas...

Unsurprisingly, shifting to a digital process for "innovation"'s sake created exclusion and stress. Authorities are bound to repeat the same mistakes if they don't focus on the needs of people and on the existing issues. It's inefficient and expensive (despite the claims of some think tanks).

A first-of-its-kind Texas law takes effect today. It aims to dam the flood of abortion pills into the red state — by letting people sue one another. @daniellestephens.bsky.social and I went deep on the new law for a special episode of Politics Weekly America. www.theguardian.com/politics/aud...

🚨 A huge leak exposes the new targets and internal operations of Intellexa, the secretive and murky company behind the notorious Predator spyware. Introducing #IntellexaLeaks, a joint investigation with partners @insidestory.gr, @haaretzcom.bsky.social & WAV Research Collective 🧵👇

🚨 Happening Now! Solidarity on trial in #Greece. Today, 24 humanitarian workers appear before a court in Lesbos on baseless felony charges carrying up to 20 years in prison—all for saving lives at sea. This prosecution is an outrage. For more info see @hrw.org dispatch: www.hrw.org/news/2025/12...

🚨Intellexa Leaks:"Among the most startling findings is evidence that—at the time of the leaked training videos—Intellexa retained the capability to remotely access Predator customer systems, even those physically located on the premises of its govt customers." securitylab.amnesty.org/latest/2025/...

La Comisión Europea refuerza la externalización de fronteras en Senegal a través de un proyecto gestionado por la agencia de cooperación española FIAP. Amplio resumen de @statewatch.bsky.social www.statewatch.org/analyses/202...

An Oregon pilot program giving cash to homeless youths sees a staggering reduction in homelessness. The program gave participants $1,000 cash payments each month for two years, and at the end of the project's first phase, 91% of participants reported being in stable housing.

🔴"FOI is the democratic canary in the coal mine. When official information flows freely, it signals that power is shared. When it’s withheld or delayed, it signals the opposite: power concentrated in the few." Vital by Heather Brooke on Democracy 4 Sale democracyforsale.substack.com/p/why-the-br...