Border tech

The main objective of ROBORDER is to develop a fully-functional autonomous border surveillance system with unmanned mobile robots including aerial, water surface, underwater and ground vehicles (UAV1, USV, UUV and UGV), capable of functioning both as standalone and in swarms, and incorporate multimodal sensors as part of an interoperable network

But all too often, discussions about these technologies are sanitized and depoliticized. People on the move are viewed as a security problem, and policymakers, consultancies, and the private sector focus on the “opportunities” presented by technologies in securitizing borders and “preventing migration.” The human stories of those who are subjected to these new technological tools and the discriminatory and deadly realities of “digital borders” are ignored within these technocratic discussions. Some EU policy documents describe the “European Border Surveillance System” without mentioning people at all.

Relying on big data, modern surveillance becomes increasingly influential in determining societal power relations. Lyon argues that modern surveillance always categorises people entailing social effects, what he conceptualises as social sorting. This paper assesses if patterns of social sorting can be found in the EU surveillance systems for migration Schengen Information System (SIS), Visa Information System (VIS) and EUROpean DACtylographic comparison system (EURODAC), which are planned to be merged in order to ensure maximum efficiency in surveillance. To do so, the paper analyses relevant documents referring to SIS, VIS and EURODAC. These systems have assumed the traditional border function of deciding on societal inclusion and exclusion. I argue that, to some extent, socio-digital borders are drawn along the categories established through social sorting. The paper exemplifies how social sorting relying on big data may be a disempowering surveillance practice.

The smartphones and other devices all of us rely on every day sit right at the center of the perfect storm of border problems. Bad guys rely on connected devices and cloud data for everything related to breaching our borders, from smuggling narcotics and wildlife to trafficking children and fake COVID-19 vaccines.

Even those with more innocent motives, whose only reason to cross a border illegally may be to escape famine, joblessness, or persecution, are inextricably tied to their mobile devices, whether it’s to communicate with family members left behind or to contact those ahead who they pray will ferry them to a better life.

in the US alone, “Border agents inspected 30,200 phones and other devices last year [2018]— an increase of nearly 60 percent from 2016.”

Data is the most valuable asset border agencies have. To take full advantage of the information (and valuable evidence) that lies buried under the mountains of data agencies are accumulating, they must move away from gathering physical evidence and concentrate on collecting digital

Border management, migration management, and internal security are rapidly converging. Modern border agencies must have systems and processes in place to not only collect, manage, and analyze data to gain actionable intelligence, they must also have the means to collaborate and share that information both internally and externally with other departments and agencies