The National Assembly has been intimated that the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has deployed the Web Monitoring System (WMS) for internet content management which is used to block applications and websites not in tandem with the law, it emerged on Friday.

Internet speeds have witnes­sed a considerable decline over the past few weeks, and users are facing difficulties in sending or down­loading media and voice notes through WhatsApp when connected to mobile data, and experiencing slow browsing speeds, even on broadband.

The business community and internet service providers (ISPs) had alleged that the government’s efforts to monitor internet traffic — including a so-called ‘firewall’ — had caused the slowdown of digital services, resulting in economic losses.

While the country’s information techno­logy minister, Shaza Fatima Khawaja, had confirmed that the government was upgrading its “web management system” to cope with cyber security threats, she categorically denied rep­orts of the government “throttling” the internet.

The PTA, on the other hand, had last week blamed the internet slowdown on a faulty submarine cable while dismissing fears that the state was installing a firewall.

It emerged today that in a response to PPP MNA Shahida Rehman’s questions regarding the overall internet situation in the country, the minister in charge of the Cabinet Division submitted a written response, available with Dawn.com, that confirmed the WMS’s deployment.

“PTA has also deployed a WMS for internet content management within its technical limits, through which applications/websites requiring blocking within Pakistan are blocked through WMS.

“PTA so far has blocked 2,369 URLs and 183 mobile applications involved in exposing personal data/identity information,” the response reads.

It added that despite “geo-blocking at the gateway level”, unlawful content could still be accessed through virtual private networks (VPNs).

The response said that it was “well established that it is very difficult” for PTA to effectively comply with the obligations of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act without controlling VPN misuse.

The cabinet division said that based on complaints, the PTA had blocked a total of 469 mobile applications.