Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Antonella Napolitano

@svaroschi.bsky.social

1.9K followers 1.1K following 370 posts

Working on surveillance technology, migration, welfare. Collaborating with public interest newsrooms and human rights orgs. Bridging and connecting. Previously at Privacy International, Open Migration, TechPresident.

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

Antonella Napolitano @svaroschi.bsky.social · 14d

Without a shift in policy, the dominant trajectory of technology in immigration will continue to be digital surveillance. It doesn't have to be that way.

Very glad to talk about our global research on technology and alternatives to detention on @techpolicypress.bsky.social.

Tech Policy Press @techpolicypress.bsky.social · 15d

Companies are marketing “alternatives” to immigration detention such as ankle monitors, GPS-enabled watches, and biometric reporting apps. But research by Petra Molnar, Daniel Ghezelbash, Carolina Gottardo, and Antonella Napolitano finds that tech doesn’t dismantle detention—it expands it.

Technology is Turning Immigration Detention into an Invisible Leash | TechPolicy.Press

Rights-based and community-centered alternatives to detention are possible, write Petra Molnar, Daniel Ghezelbash, Carolina Gottardo, and Antonella Napolitano.

www.techpolicy.press

1 19 31

Reposted by Antonella Napolitano

Corporate Watch @corporatewatch.bsky.social · 5h

"Big Tech firms...exploited people’s data; and now their tools are helping governments wage war." - @privacyinternational.org

We're glad to be part of an important new project alongside PI & other partners challenging the Militarisation of Tech: www.privacyinternational.org/campaigns/mi...

Challenging the Militarisation of Tech | Privacy International

War and conflict must not dominate our societies and technologies.

www.privacyinternational.org

2 3

Reposted by Antonella Napolitano

Sam Cole @samleecole.bsky.social · 1d

Cops misled journalists about using a powerful surveillance tool to track a woman across state lines because she had an abortion, then tried to cover it up when we found out the truth. Huge story from @jasonkoebler.bsky.social and @josephcox.bsky.social this morning: www.404media.co/police-said-...

Police Said They Surveilled Woman Who Had an Abortion for Her 'Safety.' Court Records Show They Considered Charging Her With a Crime

Court records show that the narrative Flock and a Texas Sheriff's Office has told the public isn't the whole story, and that police were conducting a 'death investigation' into the abortion.

www.404media.co

16 500 1K

Antonella Napolitano @svaroschi.bsky.social · 1d

@andreipopoviciu.bsky.social and @josebautista.bsky.social reported that the Senegalese government had deployed a security unit to violently suppress protests. The unit had been created, equipped and trained thanks to a 74 million euros project from the EU funds.
www.aljazeera.com/features/202...

How an EU-funded security force helped Senegal crush democracy protests

An elite EU-trained Senegalese police unit was meant to tackle cross-border crime. Instead it was used to quash protests

www.aljazeera.com

2 1

Antonella Napolitano @svaroschi.bsky.social · 1d

The investigation Desert Dumps developed by @lighthousereports.com &partners (including @irpimedia.eu -note: I collaborate with them) exposed patterns of systematic abuse in Tunisia, Mauritania and Morocco and connected them to the EU funds that finance them
www.lighthousereports.com/investigatio...

Desert Dumps

Europe supports, finances and is directly involved in clandestine operations in North African countries to dump tens of thousands of Black people in the desert or remote areas each year to prevent the...

www.lighthousereports.com

2 1

Antonella Napolitano @svaroschi.bsky.social · 1d

This builds on a longer report I wrote for EuroMedRights and on work (funds not limited to development aid) developed at @privacyinternational.org
euromedrights.org/wp-content/u...

Importantly, the effects, both on people on the move and on local population, are now evident (examples following)

euromedrights.org

Antonella Napolitano @svaroschi.bsky.social · 1d

Last week at @periodismomigra.bsky.social we had a great conversation w @gonzalofanjul.bsky.social @josebautista.bsky.social about development agencies and EU funds in externalization policies.

I wrote about the surveillance component of this EU approach to cooperation
gr.boell.org/en/2025/09/3...

Outsourcing surveillance: The technological side of border externalisation | Heinrich Böll Stiftung - Thessaloniki Office

One of the latest iterations of the border externalisation strategy includes the export of surveillance technologies and border control infrastructure. These tools – ranging from biometric databases a...

gr.boell.org

2 6 9

Reposted by Antonella Napolitano

The Syllabus @the-syllabus.bsky.social · 7d

Larry Ellison's £257m patronage has reshaped the Tony Blair Institute (TBI) into a well-funded engine of techno-solutionism. Our essay of the week tracks the symbiotic relationship between the TBI and Oracle.

By @petergeoghegan.bsky.social & @maybulman.bsky.social

buff.ly/rt5ONlT

18 30

Antonella Napolitano @svaroschi.bsky.social · 3d

This is so so pathetic

Antonella Napolitano @svaroschi.bsky.social · 5d

Great conversation at @periodismomigra.bsky.social about development agencies and EU funds in externalization policies - I talked about the work of @irpimedia.eu

I was asked how journalists can better collaborate with researchers and advocates to achieve change: humility and mutual respect are key

Itzel Eguiluz @itzeleguiluz.bsky.social · 5d

Maravillosa mesa sobre externalización y cooperación en @periodismomigra.bsky.social con @gonzalofanjul.bsky.social @josebautista.bsky.social @svaroschi.bsky.social y @hrw.org

2 1

Reposted by Antonella Napolitano

Dr Margie Cheesman @margchee.bsky.social · 9d

Read this excellent summary of our article on the proposed UK #digitalidentity system.

Thanks Antonella @svaroschi.bsky.social

#Britcard

Antonella Napolitano @svaroschi.bsky.social · 10d

In July, Keren Weitzberg, @empo11on.bsky.social and @margchee.bsky.social wrote about the digital ID proposal.

The three experts say that the current proposal presents a false choice between digital exclusion and mass surveillance.

A few key points 🧵
blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandp...

The Britcard – progressive or concerning? | British Politics and Policy at LSE

The Government is considering Labour Together's proposal to introduce mandatory digital ID cards in an effort to tackle irregular migration. There are problems with that.

blogs.lse.ac.uk

1 2

Reposted by Antonella Napolitano

May Bulman @maybulman.bsky.social · 12d

The idea that digital ID cards will stop people working in the shadow economy and thus reduce small boat crossings is baffling

The very nature of the shadow economy (the only way asylum seekers can find work) is employers don’t check documents.. That would obviously continue with ID cards

24 82 280

Antonella Napolitano @svaroschi.bsky.social · 10d

"The Britcard proposal creates a false choice [...] It assumes that the current system’s problems stem from insufficient verification technology, when in fact they arise from the hostile environment policies that the technology would serve to strengthen."
blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandp...

The Britcard – progressive or concerning? | British Politics and Policy at LSE

The Government is considering Labour Together's proposal to introduce mandatory digital ID cards in an effort to tackle irregular migration. There are problems with that.

blogs.lse.ac.uk

9 16

Antonella Napolitano @svaroschi.bsky.social · 10d

The proposal uses migration as the politically viable entry point for a system that would ultimately affect all UK residents.

Who benefits from this approach? Read @petergeoghegan.bsky.social @maybulman.bsky.social (Democracy For Sale/ @lighthousereports.com)

www.newstatesman.com/politics/202...

Inside the Tony Blair Institute

Who really benefits from the former PM’s tech evangelism?

www.newstatesman.com

1 3 6

Antonella Napolitano @svaroschi.bsky.social · 10d

And then there are the Blair’s ID neverending plans in the picture, "a silver bullet repeatedly redefined over many years for different policy challenges", from counter-terrorism to benefits fraud, identity theft, and - of course - immigration control.
blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandp...

The Britcard – progressive or concerning? | British Politics and Policy at LSE

The Government is considering Labour Together's proposal to introduce mandatory digital ID cards in an effort to tackle irregular migration. There are problems with that.

blogs.lse.ac.uk

1 1

Antonella Napolitano @svaroschi.bsky.social · 10d

The timing of Labour’s proposal is revealing, coinciding with Reform UK’s polling at 15-20% in April.

As Keren put it elsewhere, "the Britcard isn't a carefully thought-out digitization strategy; it's a reactive policy response to right-wing populism & moral panic about asylum seekers."

1 1 1

Antonella Napolitano @svaroschi.bsky.social · 10d

Digital ID would improve the efficiency of right-to-work checks.
But right-to-work checks have existed since the 1990s, years before the hostile environment became official Home Office policy. If such long-standing rules are burdensome, why not change them instead? jcwi.org.uk/reportsbrief...

The Hostile Environment explained

Elvis (not his real name), a Filipino man, died at home of suspected coronavirus, too afraid to seek medical help in case he got deported. Michael lost his job as a special needs teacher and was…

jcwi.org.uk

1 1

Antonella Napolitano @svaroschi.bsky.social · 10d

The Britcard – progressive or concerning? | British Politics and Policy at LSE

The Government is considering Labour Together's proposal to introduce mandatory digital ID cards in an effort to tackle irregular migration. There are problems with that.

blogs.lse.ac.uk

1 3 6

Antonella Napolitano @svaroschi.bsky.social · 10d

@lewisgoodall.com You might also want to read this by three experts in the field blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandp...

The Britcard – progressive or concerning? | British Politics and Policy at LSE

The Government is considering Labour Together's proposal to introduce mandatory digital ID cards in an effort to tackle irregular migration. There are problems with that.

blogs.lse.ac.uk

Antonella Napolitano @svaroschi.bsky.social · 10d

I think it is reductive to portray opposition to ID systems as driven by the discourse on X when there is plenty of analysis of risks of harms and exclusion (of the poorest) from reputable organisations like @privacyinternational.org and many more

privacyinternational.org/long-read/46...

Digital National ID systems: Ways, shapes and forms

Governments around the world are increasingly making registration in national digital ID systems mandatory for populations, justifying its need on a range of issues from

privacyinternational.org

Antonella Napolitano @svaroschi.bsky.social · 13d

Looking forward to joining @josebautista.bsky.social and @gonzalofanjul.bsky.social at @periodismomigra.bsky.social!

We'll talk all things border externalization, the role of agencies - and what journalism has uncovered about the impact on people on the move and local communities.

See you there!

Congreso Internacional de Periodismo de Migraciones @periodismomigra.bsky.social · 14d

¿Cómo se entrelaza cooperación internacional y cobertura mediática en el marco de la Externalización de fronteras?

🔗 Programa completo en periodismodemigraciones.org/es/

Una de las mesas del 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐨 𝐝𝐞 𝐌𝐞́𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐚

✋ Con @josebautista.bsky.social, @gonzalofanjul.bsky.social y @svaroschi.bsky.social

1 2

Reposted by Antonella Napolitano

May Bulman @maybulman.bsky.social · 14d

Glad to have got this over the line

How Tony Blair is lobbying on behalf of Big Tech

His Institute (TBI) is pushing AI solutionism on Starmer’s govt, which is embracing it w open arms, as TBI donor & tech billionaire Larry Ellison is set to reap the benefits

www.newstatesman.com/politics/202...

Inside the Tony Blair Institute

Who really benefits from the former PM’s tech evangelism?

www.newstatesman.com

2 11 14

Antonella Napolitano @svaroschi.bsky.social · 14d

I was not questioning the rationale for TBI, more that of so-called progressive politicians (including my fellow national and former PM Renzi, not that he pretends anymore) and their trajectory. I am not familiar about Marin's role in political life at the moment (Renzi still has his own tiny party)

Antonella Napolitano @svaroschi.bsky.social · 14d

This hasn't stopped progressive politicians from being hired - which is a bit different ;)

Reposted by Antonella Napolitano

Peter Geoghegan @petergeoghegan.bsky.social · 14d

🔴 NEW: Larry Ellison’s £257m bet on Tony Blair

Our investigation with @lighthousereports.com reveals how the Tony Blair Institute has been accused of pushing the interests of tech tycoon Ellison — Trump’s “CEO of everything” — and his company Oracle

democracyforsale.substack.com/p/inside-the...

Inside the Tony Blair Institute

A former PM, Trump's 'CEO of everything' and NHS data - what could go wrong?

democracyforsale.substack.com

9 110 130

Reposted by Antonella Napolitano

Lighthouse Reports @lighthousereports.com · 14d

Beyond Britain, ex TBI staff described a sea change in culture following Ellison's cash injection, w/ AI boosterism that silenced nuance & forced them to engage in ‘tech sales’ for Oracle

‘It felt icky,’ said one. Another said the focus became 'more tech, big tech, all the time’

1 1 1