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Organized networks of human traffickers are advertising illegal migration services from Ecuador to the United States on TikTok, according to an investigation by NGO Derechos Digitales (Digital Rights).

From May to September 2022, the researchers found nearly 70 accounts and more than 300 posts on the video sharing app promoting the illegal services of human traffickers, better known in the region as "coyotes", who promise a safe and comfortable trip from Ecuador to the United States.

The posts advertise "success stories" by migrants who made the trip from Ecuador and now have steady jobs in the U.S., saying "dreams do come true".

The accounts offer to take migrants to the U.S. southern border, where they can surrender themselves to the Border Patrol and apply for asylum. They also offer "family reunification" by taking children across the border to meet their families.

Although TikTok consistently removes the posts, they keep popping up as the accounts are interconnected. According to the researchers, the social media platform's efforts are "visible, but insufficient".

Migrants traveling from South America face a seven-day trek through a treacherous stretch of rainforest straddling Colombia and Panama, where at least 36 migrants died or disappeared last year, according to the U.N. migration agency.

Rest of the world: what’s new?

Africa

Kim Harrisberg, South Africa correspondent

Sudan's commercial centre in Khartoum was once a hub for tech innovation, but the war has forced tech operators out of their offices, Tech Cabal reported.

For those who remain, connectivity, electricity and safety are far from guaranteed.

Since independence from Britain, Sudan has witnessed two civil wars and over 15 military coups - major disruptions to the youthful, tech-focused population where 68% of the country are under the age of 30.

Techies believe that innovation will outlive the war, however. "(Just) think of what could happen in a more stable market," said Ahmed Elmurtada, managing partner at 249Startups, Sudan's leading startup accelerator.

United States

Avi Asher-Schapiro, U.S. tech correspondent

U.S. spy agents are buying information about Americans collected from social media platforms, credit bureaus, and other kinds of digital footprints with few guidelines or limits, according to a government report declassified on Friday.

It's the first time the U.S. government has publicly assessed its use of commercially available data sold by data-brokers, which is not subject to the same privacy restrictions that apply to traditional government snooping.

"If the government can buy its way around Fourth Amendment due-process, there will be few meaningful limits on government surveillance," said Ron Wyden, the Oregon senator who has been critical of the practice and requested the report back in 2021.

Europe

Adam Smith, UK tech correspondent

Britain has started removing Hikvision cameras from government sites over concerns about "surveillance equipment produced by companies subject to China's National Intelligence Law."

An investigation from Context in 2021 found that at least half of London's boroughs had deployed China-made surveillance cameras. Leading manufacturer Hikvision has been linked to the abuse of Uighurs.

This comes after British government devices were banned from using TikTok over national security concerns in March.

Asia

Vidhi Doshi, India correspondent

Only one in five Japanese people know how to fact-check news, according to a new study by Nikkei and Singapore's Nanyang Technological University - the lowest ratio among major Asian nations.

The study found that 75% of Japanese respondents come across fake news but only 19% said they know how to use fact-checking websites and verify it.

Vietnam topped the study with 81% saying they know how to confirm news stories, and South Korea trailed in second-to-last place, just ahead of Japan, with 34% saying they could verify information online.