ISLAMABAD: Following a disruption that rendered virtual private networks (VPNs) dysfunctional across the country, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) on Wednesday said that VPN usage would be restricted in the future to curb access to pornographic content.

In a statement, the authority claimed it had so far blocked 100,183 URLs containing blasphemous content, as well as 844,008 pornographic websites.

The statement by PTA highlighting its performance came a day after the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony wrote to the regulator to ask it to block blasphemous and pornographic content.

“In addition to PTA’s proactive efforts, individuals and government organisations also report such sites,” the statement added.

The telecom regulator also claimed that approximately 20 million attempts were made from within the country to access pornographic websites on a daily basis, which were blocked at the international gateway level.

“However, users bypass restrictions via VPNs and access porn contents, PTA remains fully committed to curbing this issue, taking all necessary measures to block this content effectively,” the statement added.

In another statement, the telecom regulator said it had organised a consultation on the issue of VPN use, attended by representatives from the Ministry of IT & Telecommunication (MoIT&T), the Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB), and the Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA).

“The PTA introduced a stre­amlined VPN registration process, allowing legitimate users to register their VPNs through a new online portal at ipregistration.pta.gov.pk,” the statement said.

However, a senior executive from an internet service provider — in response to a Dawn query — said the authority was “making excuses”.

“How would they know that people are watching porn through VPNs? They have no capability to [monitor traffic through] VPNs, otherwise they would not block it,” the executive said.

He said the main target was blocking access to X and other social media platforms.

Published in Dawn, November 14th, 2024