DIGITAL SHADOWS: THE ROLE OF TECHNOLOGY IN FACILITATING AND COMBATING HUMAN TRAFFICKING

Law

Human trafficking represents one of the most egregious violations of human dignity in the contemporary era, generating an estimated $150 billion annually in illicit profits and ensnaring millions of men, women, and children across the globe. The proliferation of digital technologies has fundamentally transformed the architecture of modern trafficking operations—simultaneously expanding the reach of exploitation networks and creating novel avenues for detection, prosecution, and victim assistance. This paper examines the dual role of technology as both an instrument of exploitation and a tool of liberation within the human trafficking ecosystem. Drawing upon federal and international legal frameworks, empirical research, and doctrinal analysis, this paper argues that a technologically sophisticated, multi-stakeholder legal response is essential to address the evolving digital dimensions of modern slavery. The analysis proceeds through an examination of how traffickers exploit digital platforms, the legal regimes governing platform liability, emerging counter-trafficking technologies, and the normative tensions implicated by surveillance-based enforcement approaches.

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