Privacy of Home to Privacy-by-Design: Article 14 of the Pakistani Constitution in the Age of AI Surveillance

Abstract

The constitutional right to privacy is more than ever challenged as Pakistan moves beyond targeted interception to advanced surveillance using analytics. This paper holds the view that the concept of the informational privacy against AI-controlled state surveillance as the target of Article 14 of the Constitution of Pakistan, which has traditionally guaranteed the dignity of the person and the privacy of the home, should be interpreted dynamically. As a doctrinal approach, the paper considers the Supreme Court precedents and the constitutional rights to due process (Article10A) and information (Articles 19 & 19A). Other major laws that we consider are the Investigation for Fair Trial Act (2013) and the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (2016). Based on these sources, we come up with a structured article 14 AI Surveillance Test which must have legal clarity, a legitimate purpose, necessity, data minimization, and independent oversight. The examples of the Safe City program on facial-recognition and telecom data retention under PECA demonstrate the application of the test and reflect severe constitutional flaws in the current regimes. Findings suggest that urgent legal and regulation changes are needed to make the surveillance technologies reflective of the fundamental rights of Pakistan, such that the security improvements should not compromise the constitutional rights.