The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority has whitelisted 20,437 Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), covering over 1,422 companies.
Out of 20,437 VPNs, 19,840 VPNs belong to 1,286 VPN companies, while 180 VPNs have been registered from 136 freelancer companies.
Additionally, the PTA has registered 417 VPNs associated with the Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA). This registration initiative is part of a broader effort by the PTA to regulate VPN usage across the country.
The Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) 2016 mandated that the PTA to block unlawful online content. However, despite measures to block content at the gateway level, users can still access restricted content by using VPNs, which encrypt traffic and route it through foreign servers, bypassing the state-imposed restrictions.
The PTA has been registering VPNs since December 2010 under a directive issued on December 2, 2010, as per the Monitoring and Reconciliation of Telephonic Traffic (MRTT) Regulation 2010, clause 6. Additionally, courts have directed the PTA to take all necessary measures to effectively block unlawful content.
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While VPNs pose challenges for the PTA in blocking unlawful content, they are widely used by legitimate businesses such as software houses, call centers, and foreign missions for secure private network management. To balance these needs while preventing misuse, the PTA has issued public notices for VPN registration.
The Ministry of Information Technology (IT) has stated that the PTA has handed over IP whitelisting controls to the Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB) to manage “One Window Operations” for call centers and freelancers. This allows the PTA to facilitate VPN registration for companies and freelancers, working closely with stakeholders like the Ministry of IT, PSEB, and the Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA).
