ISLAMABAD – People watch explicit content all over the world, despite that it negatively impacts their lives, and now Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) made shocking revelations about it.
It turned out that around 20 million Pakistanis are making up to 20 million daily attempts to access porn material using VPNs. To deal with the menace, the national telecom authority stepped up its efforts to prevent access to such content by blocking over 0.84 million websites and more than a hundred thousand offensive URLs.
PTA said massive use of unregistered VPNs caused VPNs to avoid content censorship. There was also a plethora of complaints regarding slower speeds, with users finding it increasingly difficult to maintain secure connections due to this issue.
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To deal with the menace, PTA started blocking unregistered VPN services, citing serious security risks and unauthorized access to illegal content. It mentioned these unregistered services might expose users to data breaches and other cyber threats.
So far, 20,500 VPNs have been officially registered, covering over 1,400 companies. However, the process has not been without complications, with many users relying on free, unregistered VPNs to bypass content blocks.
Amid the alarming numbers, the Ministry of Religious Affairs has called on the PTA to take more aggressive action against online content deemed immoral, including pornographic and blasphemous material. In a letter addressed to the PTA, the ministry expressed alarm over the increasing consumption of adult content in Pakistan, highlighting its negative impact on public morality and societal health.
Besides blocking porn, PTA also ramped up efforts to remove URLs associated with indecent content.
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