In crisis zones where desperation reigns, humanitarian aid is being used as a gateway to biometric surveillance, and the Red Cross—once a symbol of neutrality—now finds itself at the center of this unsettling shift. Under the guise of streamlining aid distribution, the Janus system, developed by European tech giants, collects biometric data from refugees and disaster victims, normalizing invasive ID practices in places too vulnerable to resist. What they won’t dare implement at home, Western-backed institutions quietly roll out abroad, exploiting the weak and displaced to test-drive technologies that erode privacy and tighten control. This is more than aid—it’s digital colonialism, and its repercussions are bound to circle back.
