ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Telecommunication Authority Chairman Hafeezur Rehman said on Monday that PTA has started the registration of VPNs. After this, illegal VPNs will be blocked.
During a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Information Technology at the Parliament House on Monday, Chairman PTA Hafeezur Rehman told the committee that PTA receives more than 150 complaints against social media companies on a daily basis. “98% of complaints are against TikTok, 48% against Meta, and 52% against YouTube.”
According to him, “These complaints are received from common individuals and institutions, and the content is blocked for violating Pakistan’s laws.”
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He also mentioned, “So far, 20,500 VPNs have been registered, after which we will block illegal VPNs.”
The meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Information Technology was chaired by Senator Palusha Khan at the Parliament House on Monday.
Committee member Senator Humayun Mohmand raised the question, “Is it legal to use VPN to access X?” On this, officials of the Ministry of Interior in the committee replied, “Accessing X through VPN is illegal.”
Senator Humayun Mohmand commented, “If it is illegal, why does the Prime Minister use VPN?” Senator Anusha Rahman remarked, “If X is blocked in Pakistan, why can’t it be completely blocked?”
Interior Ministry officials responded, “X’s case is under consideration in Islamabad, Sindh, and Lahore High Courts.” Chairman PTA Hafeezur Rahman says, that they are actively promoting VPN registration campaigns nationwide and registering VPNs for record keeping purposes.
After the committee meeting, journalists asked Chairman PTA about the reported slow internet the previous day. He expressed ignorance and replied, “There was no issue, my internet was working perfectly.”
Earlier, on August 1, 2024, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), the regulatory body for communications in Pakistan, informed a Senate committee that regarding online business, the use of virtual private networks (VPNs) is permissible. The process of listing is underway, after which VPNs can be legally used in the country.
He added that due to the banning of X (formerly Twitter) in Pakistan, the number of X users in the country has decreased by 70%, while 30% of users access X through VPNs.
