Journal of Human Trafficking

ISSN: (Print) (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/uhmt20

Technology in Human Smuggling and Trafficking:

Case Studies from Italy and the United Kingdom
by Antonopoulos, G.A., Baratto, G., Di Nicola, A., Diba, P., Martini,
E., Papanicolaou, G., and Terenghi, F., Cham (Switzerland), Springer
Briefs in Criminology: Springer, 2020, 90 pp., e-book price 35.99
Pound Sterling, ISBN-13: 978-3030427672; ISBN-10: 3030427676, DOI
10.1007/978-3-030-42768-9

Hannah Manzur

To cite this article: Hannah Manzur (2021): Technology in Human Smuggling and Trafficking:
Case Studies from Italy and the United Kingdom, Journal of Human Trafficking, DOI:
10.1080/23322705.2020.1846290

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/23322705.2020.1846290

Published online: 24 Jan 2021.

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JOURNAL OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING

Technology in Human Smuggling and Trafficking: Case Studies from Italy and the
United Kingdom, by Antonopoulos, G.A., Baratto, G., Di Nicola, A., Diba, P., Martini, E.,
Papanicolaou, G., and Terenghi, F., Cham (Switzerland), Springer Briefs in Criminology:
Springer, 2020, 90 pp., e-book price 35.99 Pound Sterling, ISBN-13: 978-3030427672;
ISBN-10: 3030427676, DOI 10.1007/978-3-030-42768-9

Technology in Human Smuggling and Trafficking offers a valuable contribution to the growing
literature on the emerging and evolving role of information and communication technologies in
human smuggling and trafficking processes, utilizing a virtual ethnography approach to case study
research in Italy and the UK.
In the context of an increasingly hostile political climate toward refugees and migrants, the
challenge of tackling human trafficking in a globalized and digitalized world, and the persistence of
marketized sexual exploitation, this book offers powerful and revealing insights into otherwise
inaccessible and murky virtual landscapes and processes of human smuggling and trafficking. It
creates a window into the virtual worlds which facilitate, amplify, and transform irregular migrant
flows and paths of trafficking and exploitation. Through immersive virtual ethnography and in-depth
interviews with a wide range of stakeholders and actors, the book offers a glimpse into the inner
workings of human smuggling and trafficking networks, revealing valuable and detailed insights into
evolving and emerging trends and practices.
The book’s introductory chapter concisely sets out the legal and research landscapes as well as the
political and policy interest in investigating the topic. The authors successfully identify a gap in the
literature concerning evidence of the relationship between the internet, communication technologies
and social media with human smuggling and trafficking at their various stages of recruitment,
transportation, and (in the case of trafficking) exploitation, particularly regarding perpetrator per­
spectives and practices. The authors describe their methodological approach, which utilizes two
distinct and complementary tools. Firstly, research is conducted through national-based virtual
ethnography, by which researchers immerse themselves in a virtual environment, including both
the surface and dark web, and gather data via online observations and interactions. Secondly, research
is conducted through in-depth interviews with key actors in law enforcement, non-governmental
organizations, and cyber-crime, as well as with smugglers, smuggled persons, traffickers, and traffick­
ing victims.
The Italian case-study (Chapter 2) focuses on migration and trafficking flows, including the online
interactions between smugglers and prospective migrants. Comparatively, the UK case-study
(Chapter 3) addresses the exploitation stage of human trafficking, focusing on insights and indicators
of trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation in light of the UK’s position as a destination, rather
than transit country, and the prominence of its ‘sex industry.’ Key findings on trends and practices of
human smuggling and trafficking within a virtualized context across the case studies are indicative of
the cross-national nature of smuggling and trafficking practices and networks as well as the interna­
tional reach of digitalization.
The use of nationally positioned case studies of inherently (but not exclusively) cross-border,
transnational phenomena, conducted through borderless virtual worlds, raises salient questions on
the impact of globalization and digitalization on systems of inequalities, processes of exploitation, and
shifting borders in political, social, and virtual worlds. Whilst a deeper analysis of these questions is
beyond the remit of this book, its content provides fascinating insights into the ways in which actors
negotiate, exploit, and manipulate the different borders and networks within these spaces as a means
of either facilitating or constricting movements and freedoms.
2 H. MANZUR

Each case-study chapter breaks down the composite stages of human smuggling and human
trafficking processes, into recruitment, transportation, and, in the case of trafficking, exploitation.
At the recruitment stage of human smuggling, the use of social media pages and groups facilitates the
advertisement of opportunities, warnings of fraudulent or dangerous smugglers, and information
sharing among smugglers, prospective migrants, and smuggled persons alike. The shift from adver­
tisement to negotiation and organization corresponds to a shift from social media platforms and
online forums to private messaging via Whatsapp and Viber, taking advantage of the anonymity of
encrypted messaging and rapport–building interactions via person-to-person messaging. The book
offers a number of revealing and detailed insights into both public and private interactions between
smugglers and prospective migrants regarding recruitment tactics, verification and trust-building
practices, information sharing about upcoming and successful journeys, and in particular, the level
of expertise and experience of smuggler networks. At the transportation stage, online and mobile
communications play an instrumental role in logistics and coordination between smugglers and
migrants, and within smuggler networks, as well as subsequent payment transfers through local
intermediaries.
The latter sections of each case-study chapter focus on the role of information and communication
technologies at the recruitment, transportation, and exploitation stages of human trafficking, with
particular attention to sex exploitation. Whilst smuggling recruitment is largely based on the free will
and motivation of the prospective migrant, online recruitment by traffickers deploys a range of
deceptive, coercive, and manipulative tools and practices which may be transparent, or more often,
entirely opaque about the exploitative nature of the ‘opportunity’ used to lure and recruit victims.
Traffickers deploy passive methods (e.g., social media and forum postings of deceptive job offers), or
active methods (e.g., direct messaging using grooming or blackmailing tactics). Based on their
research, the authors outline the following:

● indicators of deceptive posts,

● categories of sex traffickers based on online organization, patterns and practices of sharing
images of women and children being sexually abused on the dark web,
● indicators of vulnerability to trafficking in persons, and
● means by which information and communication technologies (ICTs) facilitate trafficking chain
communication.

Whereas transportation is a focal point in human smuggling, due to the compliance of victims and the
fact that victims are not necessarily traveling illegally, in human trafficking cases transporting victims
within and across countries often goes undetected by authorities. The authors describe the coordina­
tion and logistical support in transporting people through ICTs, traffickers, and third-party exploiters
using new technologies as a means of controlling localized movements.
The book’s research into the interplay between different virtual spaces and digital tools at the
recruitment and exploitation stages of trafficking, especially within the UK case-study, provides
invaluable insights into hidden environments where the supply and demand for sexual exploitation
as a service product are negotiated, met and expanded. A particularly valuable source of information is
drawn from the identification of suspected sex trafficking cases by cross-referencing phone numbers
posted online in conjunction with applied indicators developed during the study.
Both case studies focus on trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation rather than labor
exploitation, with the UK case-study going into particular depth on the former. In line with other
studies, the researchers found indicators of possible labor exploitation at the recruitment stage
through online advertisements, but that overall trafficking for the purpose of labor exploitation
(inclusive of recruitment, transportation, and exploitation stages) was likely primarily conducted
offline. The study noted “the difficulty to conclusively link the researched web contents to cases of
(potential) labour exploitation” (p. 26), whereas in the case of sexual exploitation they were able to
identify a significant number of cases demonstrating this connection at both the recruitment and
 JOURNAL OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING 3

exploitation stage. However, they noted a connection between labor and sexual exploitation in the fact
that victims of labor exploitation were in many cases also sexually exploited, illustrating the inter­
secting vulnerabilities and forms of exploitation in human trafficking cases.
The concluding sections and the final chapter offer a concise analysis of the findings, highlighting
and evaluating key insights within the context of existing literature and interviews with experts and
stakeholders. The study findings provide a convincing basis for the authors’ assertion that new online
and communication technologies

[. . .] open up a virtual world which does not merely mirror the offline context in which the various phases of both
human smuggling and trafficking take place . . . [but rather] amplify and expand the potential of human
smugglers and traffickers to attract and identify clients as well as to lure victims to their trade. (p. 66)

The authors note that whilst ICTs have become an integral part of smuggling and trafficking, they are
unlikely to fully replace the role of more traditional offline and in-person interactions at all stages of
recruitment, transportation, and exploitation (in the case of trafficking). In the context of emerging
debates as to whether ICTs will lead to “a mutation of human smuggling and trafficking into an
altogether new criminal activity and threat rather than exacerbating an existing,” the authors side with
the latter, arguing that whilst ICTs have a facilitating and transformative effect, particularly in the area
of sex trafficking, the core nature of these phenomena and the reliance on human interactions remains
consistent.
Whilst the concluding analysis could be elaborated further in light of the wealth of detailed and
relevant information and insights gained, it nonetheless provides a rich analysis which not only
successfully contributes toward the academic and policy development in the field but offers promising
points for future research and investigation.
In addition to a potential elaboration of the concluding analysis of the study findings, a further point
for possible development concerns the use of terminology. Although the structure of the book divides
human smuggling and human trafficking into distinct sections, there are notable ambiguities and
slippages within its terminology. The book would benefit from a deeper explanation of and distinction
between key terms. The book also uses inconsistent terminology that is subject to debate and contesta­
tion (e.g., ‘sex worker’ v ‘prostituted person’/‘victim of sexual exploitation’). Whilst these inconsistencies
seem reflective of the variety of terminology used by observed and interviewed stakeholders and actors,
rather than by the authors themselves, addressing this would have improved clarity, particularly for
readers less familiar with the distinctions and tensions between terms.
Among the many accomplishments of this book, a key point of success lies within its innovative use
of immersive virtual ethnography to observe and draw out information from virtual settings and
networks which produce valuable insights into both specific indicators and practices within human
smuggling and trafficking. This approach allowed the researchers to evaluate their findings within the
context of information given by perpetrators, victims, and clients, as well as working understandings
of trends and practices by experts, law enforcement, and NGOs. By mapping together layers of new
insights and existing expertise, this book not only opens a window into a nascent source of informa­
tion via online spaces and interactions but it also supports, builds upon and sets new, contemporary
paths for research inquiry within the field itself.
The research findings provide useful entry points and information content to a variety of academic,
policy-making, law enforcement, and third-sector stakeholders. The concluding analysis provides
promising points for further research and investigation, posing questions on patterns of the diffusions
of ICTs and levels of accessibility for perpetrators, clients, and victims. The authors conclude with
a positive perspective on the value of this and further research for law enforcement, policymakers and
NGOs in that whilst ICT use among vulnerable populations amplifies the risk of human trafficking, it
also provides a ‘new protective layer’ due to greater risk awareness, safeguarding access, and informa­
tion sharing, thereby also empowering users. Overall, this book offers valuable and detailed insights
into the role of digital technologies in human smuggling and trafficking processes through an
innovative use of immersive virtual ethnography approach to two fruitful case-studies. The study
4 H. MANZUR

and text offer a variety of useful information and analysis points to assist academic, policy and NGO
stakeholders alike in preventing, identifying and tackling human smuggling and trafficking, particu­
larly the rise of exploitation within virtualized sex markets.

Hannah Manzur
Violence and Society Centre at City, University of London
Hannah.Manzur@city.ac.uk
© 2021 Hannah Manzur
https://doi.org/10.1080/23322705.2020.1846290