Pakistan’s telecom regulator, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), has decided against a nationwide ban on Virtual Private Networks (VPNs).

According to a report by Dawn, the decision, announced on December 1st, 2024, follows a legal opinion from the Law Ministry stating the government lacks the legal authority to implement such a ban under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) 2016.

The Interior Ministry had previously requested the ban, citing concerns about VPN use by terrorists and for accessing illegal content. However, the Law Ministry clarified that PECA allows for the blocking of specific online content, not the tools used to access it, such as VPNs. The Interior Ministry is expected to withdraw its request.

The PTA had previously mandated VPN registration by November 30th, targeting businesses and freelancers, but not individual users. Approximately 27,000 VPNs registered, with an additional 7,000 registrations following the announcement of the potential ban. Concerns were raised by software houses about the potential negative impact of a ban on their businesses.

The government’s plan to distinguish between individual and commercial VPN use proved legally untenable. The surge in VPN usage followed the February ban on X (formerly Twitter) in Pakistan.