PTA’s Decision Not To Ban VPN
Pakistan’s telecom regulator has decided not to ban virtual private networks (VPNs) nationwide.
According to details, the government decided not to ban VPNs, according to the law ministry, the government does not have the legal authority to impose such a ban under the Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) 2016.
The interior ministry had earlier requested the ban, citing concerns about terrorists using VPNs and accessing pornographic content.
However, the law ministry clarified that PECA allows blocking specific online content. The interior ministry is expected to withdraw the request.
It is worth noting that Pakistan’s telecom regulator had asked businessmen and freelancers to register their VPNs by November 30,
After the announcement of the possible ban, about 27,000 VPNs were registered, with 7,000 additional registrations, with software houses expressing concerns about the potential negative impact of the ban on their businesses.
It should be noted that VPN usage increased after the ban on X (formerly Twitter) in Pakistan in February this year.
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