Technology

Human rights groups ask House not to fund invasive tech for border security

Photo source: Flickr

Over 25 human rights and tech groups petition the US House of Representatives to not fund “various invasive surveillance technologies that would intrude on the liberties of travelers, immigrants, and people who live near the border.”

The human rights and tech organizations signed an open letter yesterday on Medium expressing concerns that if “new cutting edge technology” were installed at the border between US and Mexico, that technology could later be used against American citizens living way beyond the border.

The open letter highlights five areas of tech that the signing members don’t want to be funded:

Risk-based targeting: “We oppose the replication and expansion of risk-based systems that have exacerbated current racial disparities in immigration enforcement.”
Mass surveillance: “Aircraft, including unmanned drones, often include the power to capture the faces and license plates of vast numbers of people who live and work near the border. The government may scrutinize this personal information with machine-learning techniques susceptible to the same biases and problems listed above.
Biometrics: “Senator Jeff Merkley and the Congressional Black Caucus have expressed serious concern that facial recognition technology would place “disproportionate burdens on communities of color and could stifle Americans’ willingness to exercise their first amendment rights in public.”
License plate readers: “Border patrol has deployed ALPR [automatic license plate readers] systems not just at the border, but at interior checkpoints as far as 100 miles from the border, a zone within which two-thirds of Americans live.”
Biometric and DNA data: “We are concerned about the threat that any collected biometric data will be stolen or misused, as well as the potential for such programs to be expanded far beyond their original scope.”

“We also express additional concern with proposals that involve persistent and expansive video and imagery surveillance, sensors, and other technologies that are likely to collect large amounts of personal and individualized information from travelers and border residents,” the letter reads.

The letter was addressed to:

Speaker Nancy Pelosi
Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy
Minority Leader Steny Hoyer
Minority Whip Steve Scalise
Chair Nita Lowey, Chair of House Appropriations Ranking Member
Kay Granger, House Appropriations

The 28 tech and human rights groups that signed the letter were:

Fight for the Future
Electronic Frontier Foundation
18 Million Rising
Access Now
ACLU
American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee
Campaign for Liberty
Center for Media Justice
Constitutional Alliance
Daily Kos
Defending Rights & Dissent
Demand Progress
Due Process Institute
Freedom of the Press Foundation
Free Press Action
Media Mobilizing Project
Media Alliance
Mijente
Muslim Justice League
National Immigration Law Center
New America’s Open Technology Institute
Oakland Privacy
OpenMedia
The Project on Government Oversight
RAICES
Restore The Fourth
RootsAction.org
SumOfUs

“Ubiquitous surveillance technology poses a serious threat to human rights and constitutional liberties. We call on Congress not to expand these invasive programs with new funding,” the letter concludes.

Tim Hinchliffe

The Sociable editor Tim Hinchliffe covers tech and society, with perspectives on public and private policies proposed by governments, unelected globalists, think tanks, big tech companies, defense departments, and intelligence agencies. Previously, Tim was a reporter for the Ghanaian Chronicle in West Africa and an editor at Colombia Reports in South America. These days, he is only responsible for articles he writes and publishes in his own name. tim@sociable.co