Pakistan withdraws VPN ban plans, but use could still be at risk
People in Pakistan may still be able to use VPN services without restrictions, as the country’s telecom authority has decided not to ban VPN use after all. This came after Pakistan’s Justice Ministry said the government cannot legally block VPNs.
The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) originally set the deadline for November 30 to begin implementing a new policy regulating VPN use. Under the new rules, companies and freelancers could only use a registered service for legitimate purposes, such as banking, foreign missions, corporations, universities, IT companies and call centers.
However, on Saturday, November 30, PTA Chief Chairman Major General (Retired) Hafeezul Rehman announced the government’s decision to extension of the registration deadline. A day later, the PTA completely revoked the VPN ban “due to lack of legal grounds” – Pakistani English-language newspaper Dawn reported that.
What’s Behind the Pakistani VPN Debate?
Pakistanis have increasingly turned to the best VPN apps in 2024 as a means to circumvent ever-increasing government-imposed restrictions.
WhatsApp is the latest social media platform to be blocked in the country this year. The block was implemented just two days after authorities restricted Bluesky amid a global surge in popularity. X (formerly Twitter) has been inaccessible without a VPN since February. According to Surfshark’s Internet Tracker, Meta’s Facebook and Instagram were also restricted in July 2024 and May 2023, respectively.
While such circumvention software is becoming a crucial resource for residents and visitors alike, authorities have also reportedly targeted VPN use over the course of the year. Residents have been experiencing temporary connectivity issues since February (right when X was first restricted).
In August, the government first shared plans to regulate the use of VPNs as a way to combat VPN abuse. The authorities would do that later consider unregistered VPNs a ‘security risk’ for Pakistan as they could be used to access ‘sensitive data’.
The PTA urges companies and freelancers to register their VPN service with the telecom authority to avoid any disruptions. Still, the lack of guidelines for non-commercial VPN users has opened the debate over whether the government could actually legally ban VPNs in the country.
Now it seems they have found the answer: a VPN ban in Pakistan is against the law, according to the country’s Ministry of Justice.
“There was an interpretation issue with the clauses in the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) 2016, and ultimately it was noted that the Home Office’s interpretation in this regard was weak and that the courts would allow the law to operate. VPNs,” a source within the Ministry of Home Affairs told Dawn.
Do you know that?
A virtual private network (VPN) is security software that encrypts your Internet connections to prevent snooping. It also spoofs your real IP address location to increase anonymity and grant access to otherwise geo-restricted content.
Under Section 34 of PECA, the government can block content, but not tools (like VPNs in this case).
The news will likely come as a relief to the thousands of Pakistanis who rely on VPN services to continue accessing the free internet and protecting their privacy online. Still, the problems for VPN users across the country may not end there.
Prominent people close to the government have often criticized VPN use. For example, on November 15, Pakistan’s religious leader argued that using a VPN is against Islamic law and called for a ban. The Ministry of Interior also called on the same day to block all “illegal” VPNs, claiming that terrorists use these tools “to facilitate violent activities and financial transactions in Pakistan.”
In a briefing to a Senate committee, the PTA chairman also reiterated that “individuals should not access unauthorized social media apps or websites through VPNs,” the Dawn reported.
In addition to growing anti-VPN sentiment, Pakistan has reportedly deployed a China-like internet firewall that “has the ability to block VPNs” – a Defense Ministry official familiar with the new deployments told Al Jazeera.
Whether or not VPN censorship will increase is still difficult to say for sure, but we can expect the Pakistani VPN debate to continue to evolve in the coming weeks.