Digital authoritarianism in democracies: the digital repression of human rights defenders in US immigration enforcement

Abstract

Governments have increasingly used digital technologies as tools of repression. Despite the democratic benefits of digital tools, especially for the work of Human Rights Defenders, the misuse of technology to oppress dissent is increasingly used by governments. Digital Authoritarianism refers to the use of technology in practices with authoritarian tendencies. Most of the literature is focused on Digital Authoritarianism in Authoritarian regimes, however, it is increasingly present in democratic governments. In fact, democracies can benefit from the covert nature of digital tools, whose use for repression is less evident than violent coercive strategies. With the increasing spread of anti-immigration sentiments, coupled with digitalisations of borders and of migration governance, digital tools are used by democratic governments to control immigration. However, the present thesis investigates how these Digital Authoritarian practices are actually targeting Human Rights Defenders as well, and how this can explain the increasing blurring of boundaries between democracies and authoritarian governments. Specifically, the present thesis focuses on the US as a case study, investigating immigration enforcement during the second Trump presidency (2025/2026). Given the contemporary relevance of the research, it was conducted through a qualitative thematic analysis of NGO and government data. Findings show that Digital Authoritarianism practices such as surveillance, data collection, and channelling are used within immigration enforcement to target Human Rights Defenders in ways that target their freedom of expression, right to privacy and freedom of association. The present thesis finds that the use of Digital Authoritarianism practices against Human Rights Defenders and the restriction on their rights can aid in explaining current threats faced by democracies and contributes to the literature on Digital Authoritarianism and its implementation by democratic governments.