PTA hints at blocking unregistered VPNs in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has hinted at blocking unregistered Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) across the country, ARY News reported.

During a Senate committee meeting on IT and Telecom, chaired by Senator Palwasha Khan, the issue of VPN usage was discussed.

Chairman PTA stated that the authority is receiving complaints against social media apps including 95% of TikTok, 65% of Meta, and 22% of X (formerly Twitter) requests.

Senator Humayun Mohmand questioned whether using a VPN as a member of the assembly would be against policy.

Chairman PTA responded that the authority is working to manage internet restrictions in Pakistan like Dubai and China.

The PTA chairman revealed that 20,500 individuals have registered their VPNs with the authority and a campaign is underway to encourage registration, and unregistered VPNs will be blocked later, he warned.

READ: PTA launches portal for VPN registration to ensure stable operations

Earlier, in a move to ensure uninterrupted operations of businesses, including software houses, call centers, freelancers, and foreign missions, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) launched a one-window operation to whitelist IP and VPN registration.

The registration process is now available through a unified “one window” operation on the PTA and PSEB websites.

This ongoing effort, coordinated by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), Ministry of Information Technology (MOIT), Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB), and Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA), has already seen over 20,000 IPs registered since 2020.

The initiative seeks to ensure that businesses can maintain secure and uninterrupted online operations.

Organizations are encouraged to register their VPNs to safeguard their digital activities and streamline their operations.

For seamless registration, businesses can visit PTA’s website.

Firewall installation challenged

It is worth mentioning here that Hamid Mir, a senior journalist filed a petition in Islamabad High Court against the installation of firewall and internet shutdown through lawyer – Imaan Mazari.

The applicant in his petition argued that the installation of the firewall apparently caused a drastic drop in internet speed, hurting the youth who are the backbone of the digital economy.