Surveillance is not the only privacy issue
This article examines the intersection of state surveillance, digital privacy, and electoral processes in India. It highlights concerns regarding the use of facial recognition technology, the targeting of protesters, and the potential for voter exclusion during electoral roll revisions.
Why it matters
It raises critical questions about the balance between state security measures and the fundamental privacy rights of citizens in a digital age.
I n August 2026, the Supreme Court disposed of a public interest litigation on doxxing and deepfakes , asking the Union Ministries to take remedial measures. Earlier in July, A.A. Rahim, a Rajya Sabha member, petitioned the top court against the Delhi Police’s use of facial recognition and biometric surveillance during the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protests. And in May, the SC upheld the Election Commission’s (EC) Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, though critics had warned that it could exclude a large number of eligible voters.
While these may look like three unrelated stories, read together, they form a pattern connecting the state, private firms, online networks and the citizens caught among them.
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