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Caught Between Old Crimes And New Tech: Anti-Human Trafficking Efforts In The Modern Digital Age

By Jessica Wilkerson 

Introduction 

As society has become increasingly intertwined with and reliant upon the Internet, so have criminal investigations. While this explosion in digital evidence has in many ways been a boon—some commentators speak of a “golden era of surveillance”[1]—the growth and continued evolution of relevant technologies poses significant challenges to the prosecution of criminal acts.

This is especially true in the context of human trafficking investigations, which tend to heavily leverage digital infrastructures like mobile phones and the Internet. This article explores two evolving technologies—device encryption and DNS-over-HTTPS—to provide an explanation of how they work, and the challenges, both practical and legal, that they create for law enforcement efforts to combat human trafficking. In doing so, this article aims to create a deeper understanding of these technologies, dispel myths or confirm theories about their impacts, and explore proposals for ways in which necessary advancements in technology can, should, and must coexist with the needs of law enforcement to prosecute crime.

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Let Me See Your Phone: The U.S. Should Follow the U.K. In Allowing Border Agents to Search Electronic Devices at U.S. Borders

By: Aldina Kahari

I. Introduction

On average, approximately one million people cross the Mexico-U.S. border in each direction every day.[1] Of those crossings, only a handful occur illegally.[2] In 2017, there were almost 77 million international arrivals into the U.S., including arrivals from Mexico and Canada.[3] As our use of technology is ever-increasing, the amount of electronic devices that travelers bring along with them is increasing along with it.[4] In 2017, border agents at the U.S. border and at airports searched nearly 30,200 cellphones, computers, and other electronic devices of travelers entering and exiting the United States.[5] These numbers are an almost sixty percent increase from 2016.[6] With the growth in the use of portable technology such as cellphones and laptops, there remain many unanswered questions as to how and when searches of electronic devices can be conducted at our nation’s borders.[7]

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Are All Americans Deserving of Equal Privacy Rights in the Age of the Internet of Things?

By: Colin Nardone

I. Introduction

In this modern technology age, do we really have a right to privacy? Practically everything we do, whether it is checking the weather, changing our thermostat, or using an internet connected home security system, is tracked by some company online. These companies compile these vast amounts of data, and often sell them to the highest bidder. Sometimes, even the police gain access to this data in order to solve crimes. Does the Constitution have any meaning in this kind of hyper-connected world?

The Fourth amendment provides “[t]he right of the people to be secure in their person, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures,” but is there anything left to these words to provide that security for individuals, especially those most impoverished in our country?[1] Within the last few decades, the Supreme Court has generally recognized a right to privacy under the Fourth Amendment in specific contexts where technology is involved.[2] But does this same right extend equally to all Americans including those who live in public housing across the United States?

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