ISLAMABAD: Pakistanis are reportedly making as much as 2 million every day makes an attempt to entry blocked specific content material utilizing unregistered digital personal networks (VPNs), regardless of authorities restrictions, sources advised The Information.
The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has ramped up efforts to limit entry to such websites, having already blocked over 844,000 immoral web sites and greater than 100,000 offensive URLs.
As unregistered VPNs are extensively used to bypass these restrictions, complaints about sluggish VPN speeds have surged. In response, the PTA has began blocking unregistered VPNs, citing safety dangers and considerations over unauthorized entry to unlawful content material.
The sources revealed that the PTA is working to expedite the whitelisting of authorised VPN companies to deal with these points.
Officers from the PTA mentioned that unregistered VPNs pose important safety dangers by probably permitting unauthorised entry to delicate knowledge. The authority has additionally briefly restricted sure VPNs to facilitate their registration and inclusion in its whitelist.
Because the VPN registration course of started in 2010, round 20,500 VPNs have been registered, protecting over 1,422 corporations, with efforts underway to speed up compliance.
Many customers have reported disruptions in free VPN companies, affecting safe shopping capabilities. PTA officers assured that measures are being taken to streamline VPN registration whereas stopping unlawful entry. VPNs are generally used worldwide to bypass content material restrictions.
Just lately, the Ministry of Non secular Affairs urged the PTA to dam and prohibit entry to pornographic, blasphemous, and different dangerous on-line content material.
In a letter to the highest telecommunication regulator, the non secular affairs ministry expressed considerations over Pakistan changing into “one of many main international locations by way of viewing pornographic content material, which is very alarming, particularly in gentle of its damaging impression on public morality and the well-being of our society”.
The PTA has actively blocked URLs carrying “anti-Islam, indecent, and immoral” content material, reaching about 1.3 million blocked URLs as of July 2024.
A report shared with the Peshawar Excessive Courtroom earlier this month famous that the PTA’s internet monitoring system had processed 1.38 million URLs, blocking 93.84% (or 1.303 million) attributable to inappropriate content material.
The PTA’s report was introduced in response to a petition calling for an entire ban on TikTok, claiming that the platform allowed “blasphemous and indecent” materials.
Counsel for the PTA, Jehanzeb Mehsud, confirmed the submission of a complete report as directed by the courtroom.
Additional particulars reveal that of the URLs blocked, 1.02 million had been categorised below “decency and immorality,” with others associated to safety, defamation, sectarian hate speech, and contempt of courtroom.
Some 147,569 Fb URLs, 125,600 TikTok URLs, and 53,872 Twitter URLs have been blocked, amongst others.
The PTA additionally disclosed that from 2020 up to now, TikTok has eliminated over 113,000 gadgets labeled as immoral or anti-Islamic, with 24,800 removals this yr alone.