Mass surveillance in the age of AI-the Indian dilemma of security versus privacy

Abstract

India’s rapid adoption of AI-powered surveillance technologies, from facial recognition systems to predictive policing algorithms, has created a critical tension between national security imperatives and fundamental privacy rights. This paper examines the legal, ethical, and societal implications of mass surveillance in India, contrasting its approach with global models while highlighting alarming gaps in accountability. Unlike Western democracies with robust oversight mechanisms or authoritarian states with centralized control, India operates in a regulatory vacuum, deploying advanced surveillance tools without adequate safeguards. Case studies reveal systemic issues: Misidentification by facial recognition systems leading to wrongful arrests, predictive algorithms reinforcing caste and religious biases, and the normalization of surveillance in public spaces altering citizen behavior.The analysis demonstrates how India’s legal framework, anchored in the Puttaswamy judgment’s privacy protections but undermined by vague laws like IT Act Section 69, fails to meet international standards. Comparative assessments with the EU’s GDPR, U.S. Fourth Amendment protections, and China’s Social Credit System expose India’s dangerous hybrid trajectory: authoritarian-scale surveillance capabilities with democratic-era accountability deficits.