PTA asked to block 'illegal' VPNs

ISLAMABAD:

The Ministry of Interior on Friday directed the Pakistan Telecom Authority (PTA) to block all illegal Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), saying the proxies were not only being used by the terrorists but also by internet users for "discreetly" accessing pornographic and blasphemous contents.

And in a related development, The Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) Chairman, Allama Dr Raghib Hussain Naeemi, declared the use of VPNs for accessing blocked or unethical content as un-Islamic.

The interior ministry's letter to the PTA has come on the heels of frequent internet disruptions in Pakistan amid wide use of VPNs to access X, formerly Twitter - from the prime minister down to the common man - as the micro-blogging site isn't accessible for several months now. The ban on X was followed by the government's reported move to slowdown internet.

Nevertheless, the issue of banning X to sluggish speed of the internet has been questioned by many, including PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari – ruling PML-N government's key ally – and vice president of a leading US technology think-tank, Daniel Castro, as well as from tech industry to general public.

On Thursday, Bilawal while reacting to slow internet speed said that the "decisions on internet policy are being taken by those people who do not even use it" while the VP of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), Daniel Castro, said that internet restrictions in Pakistan might provide short-term political power but it can cause long-term economic instability due to significant costs associated with these shutdowns.

Prior to that, State Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication Shaza Fatima Khawaja attempt to attribute internet disruptions to a surge in VPN usage had sparked a firestorm of criticism from digital rights advocates, businesses, and IT experts as she had claimed that the surge in VPN usage had placed undue stress on the country's internet infrastructure, leading to significant slowdowns.

On Friday, the interior ministry sent a letter to the PTA, instructing to block "illegal" VPNs being used in the country. "VPNs are increasingly being exploited by the terrorists to facilitate violent activities and financial transactions in Pakistan," stated the ministry's letter dated November 15 to the PTA.

"Off late," the ministry has conveyed to chairman PTA, "an alarming fact has been identified, wherein VPNs are used by terrorists to obscure and conceal their communications." Subsequently, the letter read, "VPNs are also being used for discreetly accessing pornographic and blasphemous contents."

The ministry didn't stop there as it admitted by stating that "it is pointed out that Pakistan is considered as one of the countries where porn sites are frequently visited by using VPNs," saying these "trends warrant prohibition of unauthorized VPNs to address the critical threats."

Finally, the ministry issued directions for blocking "illegal VPNs across Pakistan so that legitimate/registered VPN users may not be affected." In addition, it ordered, "registration of VPNs with PTA may also be made till 30th November, 2024."

Earlier, it was reported, PTA blocked more than 900,000 links to sites with offensive and pornographic content. The reports said that PTA has intensified its oversight on platforms disseminating offensive content and implementing measures to restrict access to such sites. It was added that the effort included blocking websites flagged by citizens and governmental bodies.

They maintained that PTA spokesperson said that Pakistan remains one of the top countries for online access attempts to pornographic content, saying "nearly 20 million attempts are blocked daily at the international gateway". The official added that VPNs are often used to circumvent restrictions.

Meanwhile, it was reported, PTA also confirmed that it had blocked 100,183 "blasphemous" URLs and 844,008 pornographic websites, based on data from ongoing monitoring efforts.