AYS News Digest 13/05/2023: AI surveillance banned in Europe — except for tracking people on the move
Leaked internal EU documents reveal the shortcomings of CCACs // UK Minister of Immigration doesn’t know international law // Title 42 expires, causing chaos on the Mexican/US border // Policy recommendations on mitigating the impact of climate change on migration & more
FEATURE — AI Act in Europe: what does the ban on predictive surveillance technologies mean for people on the move?
In short: there are significant protections missing in the context of migration from the AI Act.
Yesterday, the AI Act was voted upon. Its purpose? To protect fundamental human rights. The AI Act bans specific uses of AI in Europe, such as:
- Predictive policing systems
- Emotional and biometric categorisation systems
- Biometric identification in public spaces
These technologies, used for example to determine if someone’s dialect matched the region they claimed to come from, amalgamate often biased and discriminatory data to inform real-world decisions.
On the surface, as European Digital Rights (EDRi) and BVMN have noted, this act is a positive force: it “overwhelmingly endorsed important protections against harmful uses of AI in migration”.
However, there remain significant loopholes that would allow AI to be applied to migration contexts, in spite of the ‘ban’. The result? The AI Act will protect the fundamental human rights of Europeans, but not people on the move.
BVMN advocate for
“all algorithmic profiling systems used in migration to be regulated separately, with a migration specific ban”.
Note the recent uses of technology at Europe’s border for oppressive purporses, pre-emptively criminalising people. France has deployed drones to monitor the Italian border. Greek CCACs, which we have written about here, use biometric recognition to restrict movement.
Moreover, the European Parliament is also proposing a four year grace period for the EU migration databases to comply with the AI Act’s safeguards: will this allow abusive tech to be employed in the interim? Quite possibly.
GREECE
What happens to people when they arrive in Greece? — Leaked internal correspondence details the shortcomings
Leaked internal documents, examined by Al Jazeera and Solomon, highlight the shortcomings of the Greek CCACs, funded by the EU.
They reveal a shortage of doctors, accusations of violence against children, and significant delays in asylum procedures:
The issues in these camps — Samos, Kos and Leros — are revealed to be chronic, rather than anomalous.
MSF reminds us that, despite the increase in people on the move seeking to reach Europe via the Mediterranean, there are still many people moving across the Aegean too:
UNITED KINGDOM
Robert Jenrick, the UK’s Minister for Immigration, has made false claims on British television about international law. He stated that “The only way that we will stop [small boats] is if we create a deterrent” — clearly a man worried about the human impact of his proposed legislation — before falsely claiming that people must by law seek asylum in France or another safe country, not in the UK.
This is false. UNHCR has clarified here (see point 19): “there is no requirement under international law for asylum-seekers to seek protection in the first safe country they reach”.
He has revealed how his government chooses to interpret the law, to exonerate themselves of responsibility and decency.
Liberty have also released a report, detailing the potential consequences of passing the ‘Illegal Migration Bill’ into law:
NORTH AMERICA / MEXICO
Title 42 expires, chaos ensues on the Mexican border
On Friday night, Title 42 — a law that arose from Covid — expired. According to Reuters, ‘Migrants have been expelled more that 2.7 million times under Title 42, although the total includes many repeat crossers”. The new legislation bought in by the Biden administration intends ‘to block unlawful crossings while establishing a legal means of entering the US’ according to national media.
However, with a lack of clarity over the new laws, thousands of people sought to enter the US before the potentially stricter legislation is enforced.
See the Guardian’s photo essay here for a better idea.
The BBC have also written an ‘explainer’ here.
WORTH READING
- A policy paper on how climate change will impact migration in the coming years, focusing on the suggested implementation of possible mitigations.
Find daily updates and special reports on our Medium page.
If you wish to contribute, either by writing a report or a story, or by joining the Info team, please let us know!
We strive to echo correct news from the ground through collaboration and fairness. Every effort has been made to credit organisations and individuals with regard to the supply of information, video, and photo material (in cases where the source wanted to be accredited). Please notify us regarding corrections.
If there’s anything you want to share or comment, contact us through Facebook, Twitter or write to: areyousyrious@gmail.com
