Pakistan Communications Regulatory Authority Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) told a Senate committee on Thursday that virtual private network (VPN) whitelisting is being done in keeping with online business, after which VPNs can be used in the country.
Chairman PTA Hafeezur Rahman said in today’s meeting chaired by Senate Standing Committee on Cabinet Secretariat, Senator Rana Mehmoodul Hasan, that the closure of X (formerly Twitter) is the decision of the government, the day the government says to open X. will give
‘PTA shuts down social media platforms at the behest of the government.’ He told the upper house committee that ‘Government contacts the relevant platform on complaints received regarding social media that this thing is against the laws of Pakistan.
“However, among social media platforms, Tik Tok blocks most actions on our complaint. In this regard, X performs the least. We can block entire Facebook or X but not just one post on it.’
Indication of VPN restriction
Chairman PTA hinted at restricting VPNs operating in the country and said ‘VPN can be blocked but your entire business runs on it. VPN will work in Pakistan, not the rest.
He said that ‘in Pakistan x (formerly Twitter) has reduced the number of X users in the country by 70 percent, while 30 percent of users are using X through VPN.
In the meeting of the Senate Committee, Senator Farooq Naik raised questions and said that ‘mobile phones are being made expensive, you are blocking access. They are stopping the digitization of the country, what are they doing for the digitization of the economy?’
Senator Abdul Qadir raised a question regarding the opening of X.
Federal Law Minister Azam Nazir Tarar also expressed his concerns regarding X and told the committee that the implementation of X on complaints is the least in the country.
“If there is no post-block regarding religious sentiments in our country, protests start here. As much washing as the government Youtube And Tick tock It happens on, not so much on X, but we don’t disagree with washing.’
Azam Nazir Tarar told the committee regarding the opening of offices of social media companies in Pakistan that ‘social media platforms say that there are security problems in opening offices in Pakistan, they are talking about opening virtual offices.’
In the meeting, Chairman PTA Hafeezur Rahman told the committee that ’56 percent of the country’s population has internet access, while the satellite policy has also been completed.’
Chairman PTA said ‘5G license auction is likely to be held in March or April next year.’
Last year, on August 29, the Ministry of Information and Technology had announced the ‘auction of 5G in the next 10 months’. However, after almost a year, this statement has come out on behalf of Chairman PTA.
He said that ‘mobile phone company Telenor is leaving Asia and they are of the opinion that the situation is not good for the industry in Pakistan and we are at a loss.’
In December 2023, Pakistan Telecommunication Limited entered into an agreement to buy 100 percent of the shares of Telenor Mobile Phone Company.
This photo was taken on February 5, 2024 when Snapchat’s headquarters in Chicago announced it was laying off 10 percent of its workforce (AFP)
Negotiations on legislation with Facebook and Instagram underway: Federal Law Minister
Chairman Committee Rana Mahmoodul Hasan raised the question that ‘international advertisements come on social media, do they pay tax?’
In response to which Chairman PTA said that ‘at this time there is no legislation in this regard.’
Federal Minister of Law Azam Nazir Tarar said that ‘international social media platforms are negotiating with Facebook and Instagram in this regard. Social media platforms are being used for commercial purposes, they are taxed all over the world.’
On this issue, the Cabinet Secretary said that ‘social media platforms will take up the issue of taxes on advertisements with the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR). ‘
Chairman PTA further told the committee that there has been no cyber attack on telecom in two years. 37 local companies are manufacturing mobile phones in the country while 2 crore mobile phones are being produced locally annually.
“Pakistan has 40 percent smart phones while the country has 34.50 percent tax on telecom users. 20 to 40 percent in Sri Lanka, 21 to 33 percent in Bangladesh, 18.5 percent in India and 26 percent in Nepal.
No ban on social media: IT Minister
Yesterday, the federal government denied controlling user content through firewalls.
This section contains related reference points (Related Nodes field).
Minister of State for IT, Shaza Fatima Khawaja, in response to a question on behalf of Independent Urdu regarding the firewall and Twitter, said that there is no restriction on social media. Facebook and Tik Tok are the most used in the country.
He said while raising the question, ‘If there was a language ban, would Facebook and Tik Tok be running? It is a matter of thinking that if those platforms are open, why is Twitter closed?’
He said that ‘Cyber security is a big problem for any government. Firewalls assume content control, the government must have a cyber security capability.
‘Has anyone removed a post from someone’s account? There are unfounded rumors that firewalls will control content.’
“Discussions are going on with X on the issue of implementation of local laws,” he said.
What is VPN Whitelisting?
According to information available on VPN company Proton’s website: VPN whitelisting means allowing specific IP addresses to access an online platform through a gateway.
Chairman PTA told Independent Urdu that social networking websites will be able to be used through registration in the country after the whitelisting process is completed.
He said that VPN whitelisting means that citizens should register with a regulator. He said that any organization or individual can register on it.
Citing the example of China, he said, ‘Social networking websites are blocked there. After arriving in China and registering, we are allowed to use a VPN so we can contact family.’
Hafeezur Rahman said whitelisting is a long process which may take two to three years to complete.
#Pakistans #decision #whitelist #VPNs
2024-08-01 20:55:59
