Paper short abstract:

Based on an ethnographic case study of Signpost, a digital information platform for migrants developed in partnership between aid organizations and Big Tech companies, this paper discusses the challenges and importance of understanding the ambiguous role of corporations in digital humanitarianism.

Paper long abstract:

Technology companies are increasingly involved in humanitarian responses to refugee crises. Whether as partners of aid agencies or developers of border technologies, their involvement often centers on providing refugees with free access – to the Internet, information, or digital identification systems – in exchange for personal data from e.g., iris scans or tracking mechanisms. In this paper, I analyze the data practices and collaborations in Signpost, a digital communication platform developed in 2015 in partnership between Google and the International Rescue Committee with the aim of providing access to life-saving information for migrants and refugees on the move. Based on ethnographic data collected over three years (2019-2022), including interviews and participant observation with the teams of developers from the involved tech companies and humanitarian organizations, I show how the Signpost project constructs a narrative of information as both a form of aid and power for refugees, which conceals an unequal and opaque exchange of aid, information, and data. In doing so, the paper argues for a deeper understanding of the role of corporations in digital humanitarianism.