In a commentary published in 2023, Sarah Westall argued against proposals to implant tracking microchips in children as a response to fears about child trafficking. She questioned whether such technology would actually protect children and warned that normalizing implanted identification could create privacy and civil-liberties risks. The article also discussed public attention to trafficking following the release of the film Sound of Freedom. These are the author’s arguments, not findings that microchipping programs were being implemented. The original commentary provides her full reasoning.
