Discussion Questions

These questions are meant to be thought about on your own or start a conversation in groups, either way they leave you with a lot of important things to consider and think about.

If a person is fleeing danger, can their consent to surveillance ever truly be “voluntary”?

Does needing safety justify giving up privacy? Who decides that trade-off?

What moral responsibility do states have to protect migrants from the harms created by their own surveillance technologies?

If a technology disproportionately harms certain racial or ethnic groups, is it ethical to use it even if it improves overall border efficiency?

Should migrants have the right to access, amend, or delete the data that border agencies collect about them? Why or why not?

Do democratic values apply equally to non-citizens? Should they?

Is the presence of surveillance technology at borders actually making countries safer, or simply giving the illusion of safety?

Do technologically advanced borders reinforce global inequalities? If so, how?

How are modern surveillance practices shaped by older histories of colonial control and racialized mobility?

Does the unequal distribution of surveillance technologies between rich and poor nations create new kinds of “digital imperialism”?

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