By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan plans to regulate virtual private networks (VPNs) by whitelisting some and blocking others, the country’s telecommunication authority said on Thursday, as it seeks to curb the surge in VPN usage since the ban on X, formerly Twitter.
Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) Chairman Hafeezur Rehman told a parliamentary committee that only whitelisted VPNs would be allowed to function in the country.
The move comes after a significant increase in VPN usage in Pakistan, with Top10VPN reporting a 131 percent surge in demand on Feb. 19, the day X was banned. Surfshark, another VPN provider, saw new user acquisition rates climb 300-400 percent in the aftermath.
According to DataReportal, there were 4.5 million X users in Pakistan in early 2024.
PTA Chairman Rehman claimed the number of X users in Pakistan has dropped 70 percent since the ban, with only 30 percent accessing the platform through VPNs.
However, the move to regulate VPNs may have broader implications for the IT sector, which relies on VPNs for various purposes.
Rehman warned that a blanket ban on VPNs would “lead to the collapse of several IT businesses that operate on VPNs.”
Separately, Law Minister Azam Nazir Tarar called for taxes on social media platforms, citing the large number of Pakistanis using these platforms for business purposes. “Social media revenues are taxed globally, and we should follow suit,” Tarar said.
Approximately 132 million Pakistanis use social media for business purposes, yet these platforms remain untaxed. Tarar also revealed that several social media platforms accused of violating Pakistan’s security laws have agreed to open offices in the country, with some offering to set up virtual offices.
The PTA’s plan to regulate VPNs is the latest in a series of attempts to control the use of proxy networks. In 2022, the PTA asked public and private sector organizations, foreign missions, and freelancers to register their VPNs to avoid disruptions.
The authority also passed VPN regulations in 2010, but implementation remained elusive.
Senator Rana Mahmoodul Hasan expressed concerns over taxes on cellular advertisements, while Senator Farooq Hamid Naek advised the committee to study national and international legislation to ensure access to digital services for the people.
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