Islamabad, (Newsman): Pakistan has announced plans to block unauthorized Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) in the country, citing national security risks and concerns over the misuse of the technology.
The Ministry of Interior highlighted that VPNs are increasingly being exploited by terrorists for communications and financial transactions.
VPNs, which encrypt users’ data and protect their identities, are also being used to access prohibited and pornographic content, the ministry said in a letter to the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA).
The Interior Ministry’s letter expressed alarm over the growing trend of VPNs being used to conceal terrorist activities, with the platforms obscuring communications and aiding in illegal financial dealings.
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Furthermore, it noted that VPNs are frequently used to bypass blocks on restricted websites, particularly for accessing pornography and blasphemous content, both of which are illegal in Pakistan.
To address these issues, the Ministry has called for all illegal VPNs to be blocked across the country by November 30, 2024.
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While the PTA has emphasized that VPNs will not be entirely banned, it has urged companies, freelancers, and other stakeholders to register their VPNs with the authority.
A streamlined process for registration was introduced in September as part of the PTA’s efforts to control the use of VPNs.
The PTA also revealed that around 20 million Pakistanis attempt to access blocked pornographic websites daily, and it has blocked over 100,000 blasphemous URLs and 844,000 pornographic sites, though users continue to bypass these blocks using VPNs.