The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) informed a Senate panel on Monday that virtual private networks (VPNs) not registered by November 30 will stop working thereafter, according to a report by Dawn.com.
The statement was made by PTA Chief Major General (retd) Hafeezur Reman before the Senate Standing Committee on IT and Telecom. He informed the panel, chaired by Senator Palwasha Khan, that the regulator has been registering only those VPNs that are used by businesses and not those used by individuals to access blocked websites.
However, in response to a question about non-commercial VPNs, the PTA chief remarked that people “should not access unauthorised social media apps or websites through VPNs”. He was questioned by the lawmakers if the telecom regulator had the authority to suspend non-commercial VPNs. The query has been forwarded to the law ministry for response.
Senator Afnanullah, on the other hand, told the panel that the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016 — commonly known as PECA — does not allow suspension of VPNs. The continuing internet outages were also brought up during the briefing, with Afnanullah calling out the PTA and the IT ministry, raising concerns about potential losses to freelancers.
The VPNs became a focal point of discussion across the country after a large number of users reported last week that they could not connect to them. According to some reports, the disruptions were caused by a trial of the national firewall, which has been under speculation for several months now. Later, the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) declared the use of VPNs “un-Islamic”. The remarks were roundly condemned by users, rights activists, and some politicians.
The PTA has established an online portal for the registration of VPNs.
