Regulation

Pakistan attempts to enforce VPN registration

Pakistan attempts to enforce VPN registration

Another attempt to manage virtual private network (VPN) use is under way in Pakistan, where the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has extended a deadline for unregistered VPN owners to give their details until the end of this month.

The official explanation for the mandatory registration requirements is government concern over the misuse of unauthorised VPNs for illicit activities, including bypassing internet restrictions and accessing prohibited content, accessing sensitive data and facilitating criminal or terrorist activities.

A nationwide crackdown on unregistered VPNs will begin on 1 December. This may include VPN blocking, which, local reports say, has already been successfully trialled once and will be trialled again before any full-scale shutdown.

The PTA stated last weekend that the authority has streamlined the VPN registration process for entities such as software houses, call centres, banks, embassies and freelancers; all of these can now easily register their VPNs online through the PTA’s official website.

Registration involves completing an online form and providing basic details, including, for freelancers, documentation verifying their project or company association. Applicants must also provide the IP address for VPN connectivity. 

Local reports suggest that Pakistanis make up to 20 million daily attempts to access blocked explicit content using unregistered VPNs, despite government restrictions.

As regular readers will remember, VPN use in Pakistan was in the news only a few months ago. An internet slowdown in August was blamed by activists on state attempts to build a China-style internet firewall as it looks to exert further control over the online space. Officials, however, blamed the widespread use of secure connections or VPNs for the slowdown.



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