VPN concerns

The Pakistan Telecom Authority (PTA) has officially informed that after the end of this month, all unregistered Virtual Private Networks (VPN) will be completely blocked across the country. In a briefing to the Senate Committee on IT and Telecom, the PTA chairman said that individuals and organisations related to software houses, call centres, banks, embassies, freelancers and others should register their VPN on the PTA’s website. After November 30, it will be impossible for ordinary internet users to access all banned websites, including the X (formerly Twitter).

I frequently express my views to ensure responsible use of social media. That is why when a new debate related to VPNs started, I thought it appropriate to review the situation internationally. Two years ago, a new law was introduced in India that required VPN service providers based in India to keep the logs of their users for at least five years. Local VPN service providers are required to share the data with law enforcement agencies. Similarly, the Indian government is trying to control the use of WhatsApp by anti-social and criminal elements.

The use of a VPN is not prohibited in the UAE, but using a VPN to access prohibited content is a strictly punishable offence under Emirati laws. Under the guidelines issued by the UAE Telecom & Digital Regulatory Authority, the usage of VPNs for illegal access to prohibited websites, changing IPs for unlawful purposes, copyright infringement, defamation and dissemination of fake news is strictly forbidden with a heavy penalty of imprisonment and a fine not less than Dh500,000 and not exceeding Dh2,000,000 or either of these two penalties. Even making illegal WhatsApp audio or video calls through VPN is a punishable cybercrime in the UAE and some other countries.

After studying the internet laws of various countries including China, the UK, Russia, Turkey, Brazil, South Africa, I came to know that technically there is no ban on VPNs, but some restrictions are being enforced to prevent illegal use of VPNs. On the other hand, in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, concerns are being raised about the threats to national security and social harm due to the unrestricted free use of VPNs.

I mentioned in my column published in these pages on March 22 this year that the Canadian parliament has introduced the Online Harm Act, under which the Digital Safety Commission of Canada is being established to combat extremism and violent terrorism through internet-based social media content. I further highlighted in my column on April 26 that due to the Great Firewall of China, there is no room for any external force or local facilitator to take any step against the country’s security.

On May 31, 2017, I presented some suggestions including internet registration and a code of conduct for social media, which can be implemented to prevent the dissemination of hateful content on the Internet. The misuse of the internet by extremist elements in Pakistan has increased a lot. Undoubtedly, impersonating identity on the internet through VPN is a major hurdle to combat cybercrimes.

However, with the recent announcement by the PTA, many genuine concerns are arising at a larger scale: if X (Twitter) is banned by the government, then why are our rulers, public bodies and the authorities continuously using it? Under which act of parliament is the PTA authorised to restrict VPNs and what will be the penalty for using an unregistered VPN after November 30? What were the factors behind the recent fatwa declaring VPN illegal religiously?

In my view, our authorities have made a huge mistake by not taking stakeholders into confidence and by not conducting a vigorous public awareness campaign regarding the VPN issue. There is a dire need for the PTA to review the November 30 deadline immediately. Being a democratically responsible state, no such action should be taken without legislation in parliament.

The writer is a member of the National Assembly and patron-in-chief of the Pakistan Hindu Council.

He tweets/posts @RVankwani