PTA Will VPNs be blocked soon in Pakistan?
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ISLAMABAD – Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) Chairman Hafeezur Rehman announced that the PTA would be whitelisting VPNs, limiting availability to selected ones in Pakistan.
“Currently, only 30% of people in Pakistan use VPNs,” Rehman noted, emphasizing that VPNs can be blocked.
He made these remarks during a Senate’s Standing Committee on Cabinet Secretariat meeting chaired by Rana Mahmoodul Hasan in Islamabad.
The social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, has been suspended in Pakistan since February 17 due to national security concerns but remains accessible via VPNs.
The PTA chairman also stated that the ban on X would be lifted whenever the government instructs them to do so. Despite VPN access, the usage of X in Pakistan has decreased by 70%.
Rehman mentioned that approximately 56% of the population has internet access and that the 5G auction is expected to take place in March-April next year.
Addressing the issue of content creators paying taxes on income from international ads, the PTA chairman said there is currently no legislation regarding this matter.
He informed lawmakers that only 7% of complaints lodged on the platform in the past three months had been addressed, noting that X has the lowest compliance ratio among all social media platforms.
Rehman clarified that social media platforms are blocked only at the government’s request. He added that the PTA contacts the platforms about any complaints related to social media content that violates Pakistani law.
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Pakistanis are concerned about the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority’s (PTA) new plan to regulate VPN use, which could result in the banning of platforms like X (formerly Twitter) and other currently restricted portals in Pakistan.
This was disclosed during a Standing Committee meeting where authorities considered whitelisting specific proxy networks while blocking others. The move is a response to the significant increase in VPN usage following the ban on the microblogging platform X.
‘VPN Ban in Pakistan’
Since the ban, the telecom authority has reported a substantial drop in the number of Twitter users in the country.This unpopular decision to ban Twitter is expected to disrupt businesses, as authorities have warned that banning VPNs could negatively impact the IT sector, which depends on them for various functions.
Banning VPNs may also disrupt social media usage. VPNs enable users to bypass geographical restrictions and access blocked content. If the PML-N government approves the VPN ban, it could affect users’ ability to access several social media platforms or content restricted within Pakistan.
This recent move could be part of broader efforts to control information and communication, a common practice in countries with strict internet regulations.
Such bans could impact both individual users and businesses that rely on social media for communication and marketing.
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Update: The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has addressed recent media reports concerning the blocking of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs). The PTA clarified that any blocking of VPNs is carried out lawfully, following the directives of the Government of Pakistan and within the established legal framework.
The PTA highlighted that VPNs can be whitelisted through an automated process available on both the PTA and Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB) websites. This process is designed to support and safeguard IT services and online businesses in the country, ensuring that legitimate users can continue their operations without any interruptions.
This statement from the PTA follows comments made by Chairman Major General ® Hafeez Rahman. On Thursday, he informed the Senate Standing Committee on IT & Telecom that the PTA has started the whitelisting of VPNs to prevent unauthorized services from operating in the country.
He also noted that while VPNs could potentially be blocked nationwide, such a measure would negatively impact businesses.
