Pakistan plans to regulate VPN, Opposition-civil society cry foul

Islamabad [Pakistan], August 4 : Pakistan's Telecommunication Authority is planning to regulate VPN usage in Pakistan by whitelisting certain proxy networks and blocking others, according to PTA Chairman Maj General (retd) Hafeezur Rehman, Samaa TV reported.
During the Senate Standing Committee on Cabinet Secretariat meeting, Rehman said that once the policy is in place, only whitelisted VPNs will be operational in Pakistan, while all others will be blocked.
In 2024, the use of VPNs among local internet users surged significantly, primarily to access X, which has been banned in the country since February 19, according to the Samaa TV report. Several political parties have extensively used X to present their case.

The most notable is the Pakistan-Tehreek-e-Insaaf, whose jailed leader former PM Imran Khan has used X to present his point of view on various cases against him. The PTI has also used X to call for rallies and protests against the Shehbaz Sharif government. Even on Saturday, the PTI X timeline was abuzz with calls for the national protest rally in Swabi, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Khan has also been able to address election rallies using Artificial Intelligence and pushed his cause effectively on social media.
In a statement posted by the PTI's Canada office, the party criticised the move saying the government was scared of informed voices.
"First they ban X on flimsy 'national security' grounds, now they're coming for VPNs. The PTA must be terrified of an informed and connected populace. Why is the government so terrified of its own citizens' voices?" the post on X from PTI Canada read.
The call to ban VPNs has met with severe criticism by netizens who posted on X about their misgivings on this move. An editorial in Dawn on Saturday said such a move would deprive people of chances to realise their potential.
"All of this would suggest that the effort to wall in its people and control their lives virtually may only end up pushing the country even further behind in the global race for digital supremacy. For a nation largely comprising very young people, this would be an unmitigated disaster as it could have repercussions that may spill over generations. Already struggling to compete, the Pakistani people will end up being deprived of even more chances to realise their potential and contribute positively on a global scale," the editorial said.
According to the website DataReportal, there were 71.70 million active social media user identities in Pakistan in January 2024. YouTube is Pakistan's most-used social media platform in 2024 with a potential ad audience of 71.70 million. Data published in the ad planning tools of top social media platforms indicates that there were 54.38 million users aged 18 and above using social media in Pakistan at the start of 2024, which was equivalent to 38.9 per cent of the total population aged 18 and above at that time.
Meanwhile, according to Samaa TV, the Pakistan government has made previous attempts to regulate VPN usage by requiring registration, but these efforts have not resulted in significant action. In 2022, the PTA asked public and private sector organizations, foreign missions, and freelancers to register their VPNs to avoid disruptions. The PTA also passed VPN regulations in 2010, but enforcement has been inconsistent.