ABSTRACT

In recent years, the dynamics of irregular migration in the EU have increasingly been mediated by digital infrastructures, primarily smartphones, social media platforms, and encrypted messaging apps. Embedding in cyberspace creates opportunities for obtaining information, maintaining contacts, and organizing at the irregular level of migration, thus institutionalizing the phenomenon, while also strengthening the control exercised by the authorities (e.g., through the development of biometric systems, surveillance). The aim of this study is to explore the relationship between irregular migration and cyberspace in the context of trends visible at the EU’s external borders after 2020, and it examines three main research questions: (1) How can we interpret the digitalisation of irregular migration; (2) How do digital channels influence the human smuggling networks; and (3) How do the digitalization affect EU’s border control tools and measures? Based on the results of the study, digital tools have become the operating system of migration, accelerating the flow of information and coordination, while increasing exposure to exploitation and surveil-
lance. At the same time, the interoperable database ecosystem creates a concentrated risk in the area of cyber resilience.

keywords

irregular migration, cybersecurity, interoperability, digital migration, EU border control   

Hivatkozás (MLA)

Bartkó, Róbert, and Roland Kelemen. „A migráció digitalizációja és az állami kontroll átalakulása az Európai Unióban.” Jog–Állam–Politika: Jog- és politikatudományi folyóirat, vol. 18, no. 2, 2026, pp. 95-107. https://doi.org/10.58528/JAP.2026.18-2.95.

[1] Habilitált egyetemi docens, Széchenyi István Egyetem, Deák Ferenc Állam- és Jogtudományi Kar, Bűnügyi Tudományok Tanszék, bartko.robert@ga.sze.hu.
MTMT: 10033153 * ORCID: 0000-0002-3547-4252 * Scopus ID: 57208659673.

[2] Tanszékvezető egyetemi docens, Széchenyi István Egyetem, Deák Ferenc Állam- és Jogtudományi Kar, Modern Technológiai és Kiberbiztonsági Jogi Tanszék.
MTMT: 10050826 * ORCID: 0000-0002-5419-8425 * Scopus ID: 58283156900.

[3] A tanulmány elkészítéséhez a Kulturális és Innovációs Minisztérium Nemzeti Kutatási Fejlesztési és Innovációs Alapból nyújtott STARTING_25 pályázati program nyújtott támogatást

IRODALOM

Bish, A., et al. “Exploring the ‘Blurred Boundary’: Human Smuggling and Trafficking on the Central Mediterranean Route to Europe.” Journal of Illicit Economies and Development, vol. 5, no. 1, 2024, pp. 70–94. https://doi.org/10.31389/jied.214.

Blasi Casagran, C. “Fundamental Rights Implications of Interconnecting Migration and Policing Databases in the EU.” Human Rights Law Review, vol. 21, no. 2, 2021, pp. 433–457. https://doi.org/10.1093/hrlr/ngaa057.

Bredström, A., et al. “Border Reconfiguration, Migration Governance, and Fundamental Rights: A Scoping Review of EURODAC as a Research Object.” Social Inclusion, vol. 10, no. 3, 2022, pp. 68–81. https://doi.org/10.17645/si.v10i3.5398.

“Intercepted Communications as Evidence: EncroChat.” The Journal of Criminal Law, vol. 86, no. 4, 2022, pp. 271–276. https://doi.org/10.1177/00220183221113455.

Childs, A., and A. Bernot. “The Platformisation of Illicit Drug Markets: How Datafication, Technological Affordances, and Platform-Mediated Labour Practices Shape Illicit Drug Markets.” Crime, Media, Culture, vol. 21, no. 2, 2025, pp. 149–168. https://doi.org/10.1177/17416590241254519.

Dewey, M., and A. Buzzetti. “Easier, Faster and Safer: The Social Organization of Drug Dealing Through Encrypted Messaging Apps.” Sociology Compass, vol. 18, no. 1, 2024, e13175. https://doi.org/10.1111/soc4.13175.

Eide, E. “Mobile Flight: Refugees and the Importance of Cell Phones.” Nordic Journal of Migration Research, vol. 10, no. 2, 2020, pp. 67–81. https://doi.org/10.33134/njmr.250.

European Commission. A Renewed EU Action Plan Against Migrant Smuggling (2021–2025), COM(2021) 591 final, 2021. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52021DC0591.

European Commission. Pact on Migration and Asylum, 2024. https://home-affairs.ec.europa.eu/policies/migration-and-asylum/pact-migration-and-asylum_en. Accessed 21 Jan. 2026.

European Union. Entry/Exit System (EES), 2026. https://travel-europe.europa.eu/ees. Accessed 21 Jan. 2026.

Europol. “Interconnected and Digital: How Migrant Smugglers and Human Traffickers Operate.” 2024. https://www.europol.europa.eu/media-press/newsroom/news/interconnected-and-digital-how-migrant-smugglers-and-human-traffickers-operate. Accessed 20 Jan. 2026.

Farkas, A., and L. Vikman. “From Totality to Hybridity and Beyond: The Challenges of State Security Systems in the Context of the Info-Communication Revolutions.” Frontiers in Political Science, vol. 7, 2026, 1749077. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpos.2025.1749077.

Frontex. “Irregular Border Crossings Down 26% in 2025, Europe Must Stay Prepared.” 2026. https://www.frontex.europa.eu/media-centre/news/news-release/frontex-irregular-border-crossings-down-26-in-2025-europe-must-stay-prepared-lyKpVb. Accessed 15 Jan. 2026.

Frontex. Risk Analysis 2022/2023, 2022. https://www.frontex.europa.eu/assets/Publications/Risk_Analysis/Risk_Analysis/ARA_2022_Public_Web.pdf.

Frontex. Risk Analysis 2023/2024, 2023. https://www.frontex.europa.eu/assets/Publications/General/ARA_2023.pdf.

Frontex. Risk Analysis 2024/2025, 2024.

Frontex. Risk Analysis 2025/2026, 2025.

Georgiou, M., et al. “Digital Skills of and for Lives Marked by Vulnerability.” European Journal of Communication, vol. 39, no. 3, 2024, pp. 277–285. https://doi.org/10.1177/02673231241245321.

Georgiou, M., and K. Leurs. “Smartphones as Personal Digital Archives? Recentring Migrant Authority as Curating and Storytelling Subjects.” Journalism, vol. 23, no. 3, 2022, pp. 668–689. https://doi.org/10.1177/14648849211060629.

Gursky, J., and S. Woolley. Countering Disinformation and Protecting Democratic Communication on Encrypted Messaging Applications, 2021. https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/FP_20210611_encryption_gursky_woolley.pdf. Accessed 20 Jan. 2026.

Herraiz Jagerovic, V. “Smartphone Data Extraction in the Context of Asylum.” European Journal of Migration and Law, vol. 27, no. 2–3, 2025, pp. 179–198. https://doi.org/10.1163/15718166-12340199.

Josipovic, I. “What Can Data Justice Mean for Asylum Governance? The Case of Smart-
phone Data Extraction in Germany.” Journal of Refugee Studies, vol. 36, no. 3, 2023, pp. 534–551. https://doi.org/10.1093/jrs/fead049.

Josipovic, I. “Digitalising Asylum Procedures: The Legitimisation of Smartphone Data Extraction for Retrospective Border Control.” Geopolitics, vol. 29, no. 5, 2024, pp. 1831–1854. https://doi.org/10.1080/14650045.2023.2288162.

Kelemen, R., et al. “Public Trust in National Security Institutions as a Key to Sustainable Security.” Connections: The Quarterly Journal, vol. 23, no. 4, 2024, pp. 49–62. https://doi.org/10.11610/Connections.23.4.03.

Kelemen, R. “The Cyberfare State: Divergent Models of Digital Governance and Con-
trol.” Frontiers in Political Science, vol. 8, 2026, 1748562. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpos.2026.1748562.

Koops, B.-J. “The Concept of Function Creep.” Law, Innovation and Technology, vol. 13, no. 1, 2021, pp. 29–56. https://doi.org/10.1080/17579961.2021.1898299.

Leese, M., and V. Ugolini. “Politics of Creep: Latent Development, Technology Monitoring, and the Evolution of the Schengen Information System.” European Journal of International Security, vol. 9, 2024, pp. 340–356. https://doi.org/10.1017/eis.2024.5.

Lintner, C. “Connected Journeys: Exploring Refugee Lives Through Digital Tools and Mobile Research.” Qualitative Research Journal, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1108/QRJ-01-2025-0011.

Martins, B. O., et al. “Border Security and the Digitalisation of Sovereignty: Insights from EU Borderwork.” European Security, vol. 31, no. 3, 2022, pp. 475–494. https://doi.org/10.1080/09662839.2022.2101884.

Morgan, H. “Living Digitally Like a Migrant: Everyday Smartphone Practices and the (Re)mediation of Hostile State-Affects.” Progress in Human Geography, vol. 47, no. 3, 2023, pp. 409–426. https://doi.org/10.1177/03091325231174311.

Musco Eklund, A. “Limits to Discretion and Automated Risk Assessments in EU Border Control: Recognising the Political in the Technical.” European Law Journal, vol. 30, no. 1–2, 2024, pp. 103–121. https://doi.org/10.1111/eulj.12513.

Nedelcu, M., and I. Soysüren. “Precarious Migrants, Migration Regimes and Digital Technologies: The Empowerment-Control Nexus.” Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, vol. 48, no. 8, 2022, pp. 1821–1837. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2020.1796263.

Netto, G., et al. “Resilience, Smartphone Use and Language Among Urban Refugees in the Global South.” Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, vol. 48, no. 3, 2021, pp. 542–559. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2021.1941818.

Oubad, I., and R. Ghaffari. “The Digital Infrastructures of Illegal Border Crossings: Solidarity Actors and Networks in the Arabic and Persian Speaking Virtual Spheres.” Critical Criminology, vol. 33, 2025, pp. 71–88. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10612-025-09824-5.

Ponzanesi, S., and K. Leurs. “Digital Migration Practices and the Everyday.” Communication, Culture & Critique, vol. 15, no. 2, 2022, pp. 103–121. https://doi.org/10.1093/ccc/tcac016.

Scheel, S. “‘Request Denied’: Some Elements of a Sociology of Translation and Treason for Border and Migration Studies.” Geopolitics, vol. 28, no. 2, 2023, pp. 739–765. https://doi.org/10.1080/14650045.2021.1973436.

Trauttmansdorff, P. “Against Interoperability? Terrains of Technopolitical Contestation and the Remaking of EU Border Infrastructure.” Big Data & Society, 2024, pp. 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1177/20539517241307909.

TRM Team. “Blockchain Intelligence and Border Security.” 2025. https://www.trmlabs.com/resources/blog/blockchain-intelligence-and-border-security. Accessed 20 Jan. 2026.