ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Tele­communication Authority (PTA) is working on a plan to regulate the use of VPNs in Pakistan by whitelisting some proxy networks and blocking others, the authority’s head told a parliamentary committee on Thursday.

While attending a meeting of the Standing Committee on Cabinet Sec­retariat, PTA Chairman retired Maj General Hafeezur Rehman said after the policy is implemented, only whit­elisted VPNs would function in Pakis­tan and the others will be blocked.

The use of VPNs by local internet users witnessed a significant increase in 2024. Most have been using them to access X, formerly Twitter, which has been blocked in the country since February 19.

A report by Top10VPN, an independent VPN review website, stated that the demand for proxy networks increased by 131 per cent on Feb 19, two days after X was blocked.

Rehman tells Senate body certain networks would be whitelisted; others would be blocked; Tarar wants taxes on social media businesses

Surfshark, another VPN provider, said its new user acquisition rates in Pakistan climbed between 300 and 400pc in the immediate after of the ban on X.

The high number of users accessing X through VPN has also raised questions over the efficacy of the ban on the platform, but the PTA head told the Senate committee that the number of X users in Pakistan has decreased by 70pc.

Only 30pc users are accessing X through VPN, Mr Rehman claimed.

Number of X users in Pakistan is considerably low compared to other social media platforms. According to DataReportal, there were 4.5 million X users in Pakistan in early 2024.

It indicates that any attempt to regulate the use of VPN in Pakistan would have a wider implication for the IT sector which uses it for various purposes.

This was also stated by the PTA head when he was asked about a blanket ban on the use of VPN.

In response to a query by the committee’s chairman, Senator Rana Mahmoodul Hasan, the PTA chief, said VPNs can be blocked in the country, but it will “lead to the collapse of several IT businesses that operate on VPNs”.

The government has repeatedly attempted to regulate the use of VPNs by registering them, but none of those plans resulted in any tangible action.

Most recently, in 2022, the PTA asked public and private sector organisations, foreign missions, and freelancers to register their VPNs if they intended to use them without any disruptions.

The PTA had also passed VPN regulations in 2010, but their implementation remained evasive.

Taxes on social media

Law Minister Azam Nazir Tarar, a member of the committee, said many social media platforms accused of violating Pakistan’s security laws have consented to opening offices in the country.

They have also offered to set up virtual offices in Pakistan, he said.

The minister pointed out that approximately 132m Pakistanis use social media for business purposes, but these platforms remain out of the tax net.

He added that social media revenues are taxed all over the world and suggested the same for Pakistan.

Senator Hassan also raised concerns over taxes on cellular advertisements. Senator Farooq Hamid Naek advised the committee members to study national and international legislation and propose measures to ensure access to digital services for the people.

Published in Dawn, August 2nd, 2024