Research

Digital Rights,
Data & Surveillance

Adnan's work begins where technology meets law and society. His research examines the cogs of surveillance infrastructure: how it is built, who builds it, and what legal architecture either legitimises or fails to constrain it from overreach. His research has looked at the Italian surveillance firm Hacking Team's commercial spyware, the metadata practices of international intelligence agencies in the Global South, the chilling effects on freedom of expression and privacy of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA), to the quiet weaponisation of electoral voter data.

This interdisciplinary approach distinguishes his research from purely legal or purely activist accounts. He has traced specific technologies — interception systems, platform moderation tools, GPS tracking devices — through their political and legislative contexts, producing analysis that is actionable for civil society, legislators, and international organisations.

His work has been published by Privacy International, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, The Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society, the Digital Rights Foundation, and the Heinrich Böll Foundation. He has also served in an editorial capacity with the international development and Global South studies journal The Third World Quarterly.

Technology as a research instrument
Adnan approaches digital rights research with a practitioner's literacy in the underlying technologies. Understanding how surveillance systems are architected, how data flows across telecoms infrastructure, and how legislative language maps (or fails to map) onto technical and political realities is central to producing research that withstands technical scrutiny as well as policy review.
Surveillance infrastructure analysis Legislative review & drafting OSINT & open-source investigation Data protection compliance Telecoms & platform policy GDPR / PECA / data law Qualitative fieldwork Policy brief writing
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Research Areas

Surveillance & Privacy The state of surveillance infrastructure in Pakistan and South Asia, with focus on geopolitical, social and legislative decision-making and the ramifications.
Data Protection Law Review of cybercrime, data protection and cyberterrorism legislation in Pakistan — including PECA and its human rights implications.
Gendered Disinformation The role of social media platforms in the proliferation of gendered political disinformation and coordinated online harassment.
Electoral Data & Voter Privacy Usage of voter data during and after Pakistan's 2024 general election without the consent or knowledge of voters.
Telecoms & Platform Policy Privacy and data protection policies across Pakistan's telecoms sector; platform obligations and state access.

Collaborators & Publishers

Privacy International London, England, UK
Electronic Frontier Foundation San Francisco, California, USA
Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society Harvard University, Cambridge, USA
Digital Rights Foundation Lahore, Pakistan
Heinrich Böll Foundation Berlin, Germany
The Dangerous Speech Project Washington, D.C., USA
Approach
How the research is done
01
Legislative & technical review
Laws are read against the technical realities of the systems they govern — interception provisions against actual surveillance architectures, data protection clauses against how platforms actually process data.
02
Fieldwork & interview-based research
Primary research conducted with journalists, civil society actors, lawyers, and affected communities in Pakistan — grounding legal and technical analysis in lived experience and ground-level evidence.
03
Policy translation
Findings are written for multiple audiences: academic journals, civil society briefs, and policy submissions — ensuring research reaches legislators, activists, and international organisations.
Speaking & Presentations
2024
“Voter Data Privacy In Pakistan: Privacy Risks, Data Protection, and Legislative Shortcomings during Data-Driven Elections”
“Gendered Online Hate in Pakistan: Right-wing Religious Campaigns Against Women Journalists"
Global Gathering · Estoril, Portugal
2017
Panel Speaker - "Gender and Privacy in Asia"
Presenter on Digital Rights Foundation's findings concerning gendered social and personal impacts of the theft and manipulation of personal data in Pakistan
19th International Conference of Data Protection & Privacy Commissioners (ICDPPC) · 3rd Privacy, Personality and Flows of Information (PPFI) Workshop · Hong Kong
2017
Presented Digital Rights Foundation's projects to date. Successfully aided in securing DRF's successful IFEX Network membership
IFEX Strategy Conference/ 25th Anniversary Conference · Montreal, Canada
2016
Panel Speaker - "Direct Access and the Next Billion: Policy, Problems and Proposals”
Internet Governance Forum · Guadalajara, Mexico
2016
Panel Speaker, presenting on and discussing the state of privacy and freedom of expression in Pakistan in the wake of the passage of the Prevention of Elecronic Crimes Act
RightsCon Silicon Valley · San Francisco, California, USA