Petra Molnar

My first book is called "The Walls Have Eyes: Surviving Migration in the Age of AI." Based on 6 years of work from Mexico to Greece to Palestine, it shares stories of people hurt by #bordertech More info: thenewpress.com/books/walls-... Some photos: www.petramolnar.com/the-walls-ha... 💙📚 #booksky

Nothing about us, without us: Reclaiming power in an age of border technology

Special Issue: The World of Fluid Technology and Moving People

👋 We're back! We know it's been a while, but just because we've been quiet, doesn't mean we have not been busy! Check out some of the things we have been working on over the last few months - also on our website: www.migrationtechmonitor.com

🚨NEW INQUIRY! @joan1k.bsky.social from @datalabelers.bsky.social discusses beginnings, gratitude, and partnerships in this piece. @dataworkersinquiry.bsky.social is an active partner of the DLA, and we remain united in the fight for the rights of data workers worldwide! data-workers.org/DLA/

'Strong,' but at what cost? Petra Molnar (@petramolnar.com) warns that Canada’s new Strong Borders Act—a sweeping overhaul of immigration and border policy—aims to appease the Trump administration, but threatens the rights of Canadians and endangers vulnerable communities.

On Canada Day, a reflection on the Strong Borders Act, a draconian new bill that tries to appease the Trump administration, while harkening back to Canada’s historically exclusionary immigration policies The Great White North, indeed www.techpolicy.press/the-great-wh... @techpolicypress.bsky.social

Surveillance, skin deep www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

The White House has ordered the US Dept. of Justice to prioritize denaturalization: voiding the citizenship of US citizens. Who will it denaturalize? "Any" case that it "determines to be sufficiently important". Point 10 leaves the criteria opaque and arbitrary. substack.com/redirect/169...

We run out of in-person tickets. But the event will be live streamed! youtube.com/live/54i0VSo...

Just out: 'Resisting the Techno-Fascist Takeover: Are We Ready for Decomputing?' berlinergazette.de/resisting-th... in which I diagnose DOGE as institutional cyberattack and argue that the way to stop it spreading is to revive an alternative technopolitics.

ICERAID is a new platform that offers crypto rewards for border vigilantism. It is a clear reflection of a broader system – one that criminalises migration, rewards suspicion, and expands enforcement through private tech and public fear. My latest @aljazeera.com www.aljazeera.com/opinions/202...

"The largest data centers can guzzle millions of gallons of fresh water a day. Roughly 40% of US ones, Business Insider found, are in the most water-stressed areas of the country." www.businessinsider.com/how-data-cen...

NEW: Records of hundreds of emergency calls from ICE detention centers obtained by WIRED—including audio recordings—show a system inundated by life-threatening incidents, delayed treatment, and overcrowding. Unpaywalled from @dell.bsky.social and @dmehro.bsky.social:

Amsterdam’s struggles with its welfare fraud algorithm show us the stakes of deploying AI in situations that directly affect human lives.

Despite a massive judgment against NSO Group, developer of the notorious Pegasus spyware, the battle against surreptitious surveillance software is far from over. For Tech Policy Press, Tim Bernard reviews legal and policy avenues for combating spyware: www.techpolicy.press/legal-and-po...

The US government has collected DNA samples from 133,000+ migrant children and teenagers and uploaded them into a national criminal database originally built for convicted sex offenders and violent criminals, according to documents reviewed by WIRED.

Pres. Trump’s deportation plans are making the U.S.’s biggest private prison companies lots of money, with ICE set to spend billions more on detention. @petramolnar.com says the system “profits off misery” and @rachelbarkow.bsky.social credits a “targeted lobbying machine” for the profits. #Velshi

Yes, it's long. Yes, it's complex. Yes, it's detailed. And yes, it will make you sad unto nihilistic depression. But it's also necessary to read because AI is going to fuck the planet beyond expression. www.technologyreview.com/2025/05/20/1...

Meta is a defense contractor. "The company announced on Thursday that it will work with defense technology start-up Anduril to offer the U.S. military and its allies technology for soldiers involving augmented reality and artificial intelligence software."

"Records reveal how deeply the government’s biometric surveillance reaches into the lives of migrant children, some of whom may still be learning to read or tie their shoes—yet whose DNA is now stored in a system built for convicted sex offenders & violent criminals" www.wired.com/story/cbp-dn...

Lessons from the intersections of Sudan and Palestine in politics, media, and organizing. mondoweiss.net/2024/10/fail...

The ‪@pulitzercenter.bsky.social South-to-South AI Accountability CoLab aims to strengthen #AIAccountability reporting and civil society engagement in the Global Majority. From June to July 2025, it will host Peer Learning Circles for academics, researchers, and civil society.

local and state authorities have used a license-plate lookup tool on behalf of ICE more than 4,000 times "while Flock does not have a contract with ICE, the agency sources data from Flock’s cameras by making requests to local law enforcement" www.404media.co/ice-taps-int...

“Sadly, I think the true cost of these walls will be felt by generations to come...The continent has never seen a barrier of this magnitude in ecological history.” Borders walls hurt not only people but wildlife too! www.sierraclub.org/sierra/new-b... by @aprilreese.bsky.social @sierraclub.org

A researcher calculates that, without increased production, AI will consume up to 82 terrawatt-hours of electricity this year—around the same as the annual electricity consumption of Switzerland.

I'm helping organize this conference. What would you like to see at this conference? www.decolonialconference.org

As big tech continues to push their agenda into our lives, opposition in rural areas and cities is growing to AI data centers and the threat they pose to our communities and environment. Grassroots organizing is halting projects and pushing back. www.datacenterwatch.org/report

Catch a convo with the brilliant Leanne Betasamosake Simpson on her incredible new book Theory of Water, as part of the #Workshops4Sudan fundraiser for grassroots support to Sudanese folks on the ground. Sign link here: chuffed.org/project/work...

Microsoft is apparently blocking all employee emails mentioning "Palestine" or "Gaza." Read more: interc.pt/3H5WAtI ✍️ @sambiddle.com 📹 @jordanuhl.com

The court injunction comes as the school launches a lawsuit calling Trump’s actions a ‘blatant violation’ of its rights.

NEW — Kelvin Membreño will be deported to El Salvador by ICE tomorrow. He’s the birth father of three US citizen daughters and has become an important part of their lives. Here their adoptive mother makes a last ditch plea to let him stay in the same country as the girls. A gutting guest essay:

“It’s reading an article about hunger and genocide, only to scroll down to a quiz about: ‘What Pop-Tart are you?” - @rahaf.bsky.social, digital anthropologist on the phenomenon of hypernormalization www.theguardian.com/wellness/ng-... Adrienne Matei for @theguardian.com

Law students and lawyers: if not now, when? If you're ready to help resist escalating attacks on vulnerable communities and democratic institutions, the Justice Union may be for you. Learn more: justiceunion.org Please help spread the word.

Yes, the state AI moratorium was included in the big budget bill the House passed this morning and yes, it's still largely unchanged. But it faces big hurdles in the Senate. w/ @justinhendrix.bsky.social www.techpolicy.press/us-house-pas...

To better support journalists and newsrooms in the U.S. amid a growing need for legal, safety, and immigration resources, @freedom.press joined @pressfreedom.bsky.social, @penamerica.bsky.social, @rcfp.org, and IWMF to launch the Journalist Assistance Network. Read more:

"the power/data center concerns are overblown!"

Holding his newborn child for the first time after 2 and a half months of confinement—for what? Attending protests. In a country that supposedly has a First Amendment. The cruelty is just staggering.

“Let this serve as a warning to all universities and academic institutions across the country.” As someone with a Harvard affiliation, all I can say is that these are dark times indeed. How many students - current and future - will be affected?? on.ft.com/43td0Uw

🚨This is a HUGE escalation and a deliberate effort to use the government against Trump's enemies. Weaponizing the Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification against Harvard to punish them for pushing back is a new low — and needlessly punishes thousands of innocent students.

The House has passed the GOP's budget bill with the 10-year ban on state AI laws intact. If the provision survives reconciliation in the Senate, the California, Colorado, or any other state that sought to pass laws governing AI would be legally banned from doing so. This is what's behind the bill:

Make sure to pick up @docmattmoudi.bsky.social’s new book 📕!

“In the high desert east of Reno, Nevada, construction crews are flattening the golden foothills of the Virginia Range, laying the foundations of a data center city.” Important critique of the intersection between environmental degradation and tech by @jtemple.bsky.social @technologyreview.com

AI will reshape critical infrastructure, labor markets, and civic discourse long before it poses species‑level dangers, writes Atoosa Kasirzadeh. A narrow focus on extreme scenarios sidelines the work of safety and system engineers who are already fixing today’s brittle systems, she writes.

We’re hiring at @detentionwatchnetwork.org! Details below

Join Willow Schenwar and @haymarketbooks.org for “We Grow The World Together: Parenting towards abolition, a book club discussion”. This event on Sunday, June 1st goes from 12PM-1:30PM CST over zoom. RSVP and a zoom link will be sent out from the organizers.   RSVP: bit.ly/6-1wegrow