Washington, D.C. – United We Dream, alongside 22 partner organizations from the immigrant and human rights movement, submitted a public comment to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), urging the Administration to hold tech companies and law enforcement agencies accountable for discriminatory practices and mass surveillance of immigrant communities. The public comment was in response to the NTIA’s request for comment on the intersection of privacy, equity, and civil rights. In their comment, the organizations demanded an end to the systemic violation of privacy, surveillance, promotion of xenophobic content, and algorithmic discrimination towards black and brown immigrant communities by tech companies and their collaboration with enforcement agencies like ICE and CBP.
Karen Fierro Ruiz, Federal Advocacy & Policy Manager, said:
“The collection of personal data by tech companies and law enforcement agencies is a growing concern for all of us as commercial data practices and facial recognition technology lead to surveillance, harassment, and the violation of the civil rights of Black and brown, and immigrant communities. Our public comment calls on the NTIA to guide the Biden administration in holding law enforcement agencies and tech companies accountable for discriminatory practices and for violating the privacy and security of our communities.Similarly, social media platforms must be held responsible for their discriminatory algorithms that prevent our communities from accessing equal resources and information, including harmful business models that profit from the promotion of xenophobic rhetoric and conspiracies, such as the Great Replacement Theory, which has led to countless acts of violence in Buffalo, New York and El Paso, Texas. The Administration must ensure that the rights, dignity, and safety of millions of Black and brown immigrants come before the profit of tech CEOs and their unchecked greed.”
