The problem with PTA’s outlook on the internet in Pakistan is that it prioritizes business and security over people’s fundamental freedoms online. Public and private sector organizations, foreign missions, and freelancers “who desire to use VPN for their legitimate purpose must register their VPN by 31st October 2022” on the PTA website “to avoid disruption,” according to a tweet from the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority.
A Virtual Private Network (VPN) is a program that encrypts users’ internet traffic by rerouting it to a different Internet Protocol (IP) destination than the original one. Virtual private networks (VPNs) make it more difficult for surveillance tools to spy on an internet user, allow users to access websites that are blocked in their home country, and protect users’ basic online privacy in regard to sensitive information.
The Importance of Virtual Private Networks (VPN)
Digital security and privacy experts advise using a virtual private network (VPN) whenever possible, but especially when connecting to unsecured public networks like those found in airports. It is also suggested that people use them to avoid being snooped on by the state, which frequently employs unethical methods of surveillance. Both domestic and international governments count. As revealed by Edward Snowden’s leaks from the National Security Agency (NSA), the United States spied most heavily on Iranian citizens using surveillance technology, followed closely by Pakistani citizens. Using the Web Monitoring System (WMS), which the Pakistani government purchased from the Canadian company Sandvine in December 2018 for a whopping $18 million, the Pakistani government is able to conduct its own surveillance of unencrypted internet traffic.
Internet service providers and telecommunications companies paid for this under the guise of reducing “grey traffic” in accordance with the Monitoring and Reconciliation of Telephony Traffic Act of 2010. The technology that WMS purchased from Sandvine, known as deep packet inspection, has the potential to be used for both internet surveillance and censorship. Even though the PTA didn’t tell ISPs to block YouTube, there are good reasons to believe it was blocked twice in the past month through the WMS. However, the WMS does allow the PTA to restrict access to specific websites and programs at the gateway level of the internet without the assistance of ISPs. However, the text of the VPN regulations that the PTA passed in 2010 is not publicly cited in any of the press releases that the PTA has issued this month, or in 2020 for that matter. Users’ privacy is being compromised while the goal of requiring VPN registration seems to be whitelisting IPs to reduce grey traffic.
The PTA’s stated goal of “avoiding disruption” is also not defined. Do private VPN users need to sign up as well? Will VPNs that aren’t part of the PTA’s registry stop working? In particular, for users of free VPN services, registration gives the PTA access to information about the VPN being used and allows them to request data about the user from the VPN service provider.
Issues With Censorship
There has been considerable debate about the policing of content on the internet in Pakistan. According to the PTA, only sites with “objectionable content,” like pornography and blasphemous content, are blocked. But what we’ve seen over the past few years is that the authorities routinely censor a great deal of political content without providing any explanation.
Prior to the 2018 elections, the PTA arbitrarily blocked the website of the Awami Workers Party (AWP), a political party registered with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). The PTA had blocked the AWP’s website, but the Islamabad High Court eventually ordered them to lift the ban.
As a writer, I am unable to read an article I wrote for the US-based news magazine Slate about the global censorship of technology platforms because its website is also blocked. It has been reported that even medical websites have been blocked. In 2013, I submitted a right to information request to the PTA, asking for a list of banned websites. The authority not only took a very long time to respond, but it ultimately denied my request, citing security concerns.
A lack of openness like this is dangerous to our democratic system.
Imperfect Sight
The PTA’s vision of the internet in Pakistan is problematic because it is narrowly focused on security and business interests, rather than the constitutionally protected rights of Pakistani citizens to free expression, privacy, and access to information.
A centralized DNS was attempted, hundreds of websites are blocked, the Web Monitoring System is used to carry out surveillance of social media users, and mobile sim cards in Pakistan are linked to biometric identifiers, and mobile phones are registered in the user’s name with the PTA, and internet connections, including IP addresses, must be registered.
So that Big Brother-style attempts to control the internet can be put to rest, policymakers, legislators, and the judiciary must have a firm grasp on how the internet actually works. Pakistanis should have the freedom to communicate privately because they are vulnerable to attacks from both domestic and international actors.
If surveillance is necessary, the state should only do so in accordance with the law and after going through the proper channels, such as obtaining warrants from the court. As has been seen throughout history, and most recently, the current practice of unchecked state spying also enables certain elements to use these powers and tools to blackmail opponents and actors in unconstitutional ways. Before enforcing such far-reaching policies on the entire population, there must first be openness and input from all relevant parties.
The PTA must have a vision of the internet as a public square where Pakistanis can go to meet new people, share ideas, enjoy themselves, and learn new skills. Pakistan’s IT exports are on the rise thanks in large part to the country’s active freelancer community. Let’s hasten this growth instead of trying to slow it down for safety’s sake.
