ISLAMABAD – Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) Chairman Hafeezur Rehman that the PTA was whitelisting VPNs after which only selected VPNs would be available in Pakistan.
“Only 30% of people are using VPN in Pakistan,” said Rehman, highlighting that VPNs can be blocked.
He made these remarks during a meeting of the Senate’s Standing Committee on Cabinet Secretariat which Rana Mahmoodul Hasan chaired in Islamabad.
The social media platform has been suspended in Pakistan since February 17 due to national security concerns. However, it can be accessed through a virtual private network (VPN).
The PTA chairman also said that they would lift the ban on X, formerly known as Twitter, whenever the government asked them to do so.
Talking about the usage of VPNs in Pakistan, the PTA chairman said that the usage of X in Pakistan decreased by 70% despite the availability of VPNs.
Rehman said that about 56% of people had internet access. He added that the 5G auction is likely to be held in March-April next year.
When asked if content creators pay taxes from the income through international ads, the PTA chairman said there was no legislation in this regard at present.
The chairman informed the lawmakers that only 7% of the complaints moved to the platform in the last three months were addressed, and that X has the lowest compliance ratio among all platforms.
Rehman explained that they only block social media platforms at the government’s request.
He added that they reach out to the platforms about any complaints related to social media that violate Pakistani law.
