The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has registered 20,437 Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) under its whitelisting initiative, covering a broad spectrum of users, including 1,422 companies.
This move aims to regulate VPN usage in the country while ensuring that legitimate businesses can operate securely.
Out of the total registered VPNs, 19,840 belong to 1,286 VPN companies, and an additional 180 VPNs have been registered from 136 freelancer companies. Notably, 417 VPNs associated with the Pakistan Software Houses Association (PASHA) have also been registered.
This initiative is part of a larger effort by the PTA to monitor and control VPN usage, which is crucial for enforcing the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) 2016.
According to a document from the Ministry of Information Technology, Clause 37 (1) of PECA 2016 empowers the PTA to block unlawful online content. However, users often circumvent these restrictions by using VPNs, which encrypt internet traffic and reroute it through foreign servers, making it difficult for the PTA to enforce national policies on banned content.
The PTA has been actively registering VPNs since December 2010 under the Monitoring and Reconciliation of Telephonic Traffic (MRTT) Regulation 2010.
This regulation mandates the PTA to take necessary measures to block unlawful content, a directive that has been reinforced by court orders.
While VPNs pose a challenge to content regulation, they are also essential tools for businesses such as software houses, call centers, and foreign missions that require secure network management.
To address this, the PTA has issued public notices encouraging VPN registration to prevent misuse while allowing legitimate users to operate without disruption.
The Ministry of IT has also highlighted the PTA’s collaboration with the Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB) in managing the “One Window Operations” for call centers and freelancers.
The PTA continues to work closely with stakeholders, including the Ministry of IT, PSEB, and PASHA, to facilitate VPN registration and maintain control over its use.
Despite these efforts, the PTA faces ongoing challenges in balancing the need for secure communications with the requirement to prevent the misuse of VPNs under PECA.
