Digital Privacy on Trial: New study probes the protection of privacy

As Morocco accelerates its judicial digitalization, a new academic study is sounding the alarm on the thin line between effective criminal investigation and the fundamental right to privacy.

Published in the latest issue of Journal Of Business Disputes, the study by Dr. Mohamed Ben Aissa titled “Protection of the Right to Privacy and Technological Control” dissects the legal tensions within Morocco’s Law No. 03.23 related to the Code of Criminal Procedure.

The study traces the historical evolution of privacy, from the classic 19th-century definition of the “right to be left alone” to the modern era of data protection and information flow control.

Dr. Ben Aissa highlights that while Morocco’s 2011 Constitution explicitly guarantees the right to a private life and the secrecy of communications, the current legal framework remains tethered to a traditional view of privacy. This “classical” approach focuses on physical spaces like homes and letters, struggling to keep pace with the complexities of the digital age.

The research identifies Law No. 03.23 as a significant, yet controversial, leap in modernizing criminal investigations. The law authorizes advanced surveillance techniques, including;

Wiretapping and call monitoring, audio and video recording, electronic data collection and real-time geolocation tracking.

While these tools are essential for modern crime-fighting, the study argues that they lack “sufficiently precise legal safeguards.” Dr. Ben Aissa notes that the principles of necessity and proportionality remain ambiguous in practical application.

The study concludes that the balance between state security and individual freedom remains “relative.” Without strict legislative precision and robust judicial oversight, the risk of “surveillance expansion” at the expense of civil liberties remains a looming threat.

To address these gaps, Dr. Ben Aissa calls for restricting discretionary power, ensuring explicit judicial reasoning by requiring that any breach of privacy for investigative purposes be supported by clear, written justification, and maintaining legislative vigilance through the continuous updating of laws to keep pace with rapid technological change.