What are they key challenges in identifying and prosecuting cases of trafficking in human beings facilitated by digital technologies? How can open-source and user-generated evidence be used to tackle these challenges? These questions were addressed at a workshop on 19 November 2024 with representatives of international and regional organisations, domestic authorities as well as academia and representatives of civil society. The workshop included inputs by the UNODC Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling Section, FORENSIK.IT, the Austrian Criminal Intelligence Service, the Regional Technical Advisor ‘Fight against Human Trafficking in Southeastern Europe’ at the French Permanent Mission to the United Nations and International Organisations in Vienna, the Internet Service Providers Austria, as well as academics closely cooperating with national authorities from the United Kingdom and Denmark.

The contributions addressed the topic from different angles, such as the investigation strategies used in different countries and the role of digital forensics, the role of digital platforms and internet services providers in the identification of trafficking cases and their cooperation with domestic authorities. Lastly, the Leiden Guidelines on the Use of Digitally Derived Evidence in International Criminal Courts and Tribunals and the ‘Evaluating Digital Open Source Imagery: A Guide for Judges and Fact-finders’ were presented and discussed.

Our colleagues, Edith Riegler, Helmut Sax and Konstantina Stavrou, moderated the discussions and gave input based on ongoing research on the topic of technologies and trafficking in human beings, including child trafficking. The workshop was organised as part of the institute’s research on trafficking in human beings and was funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Education and Sport of the Principality of Liechtenstein.