An industry group is warning that Pakistan’s VPN crackdown could mean a $1 billion loss for the IT sector in its first year alone.
ISLAMABAD — Pakistan is set to ban most Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), putting it on the path of countries including China and Russia that have throttled internet access to crack down on dissent.
Islamabad said it is trying to curb militancy and online crime. But the planned ban, expected to begin this weekend, is the latest in a series of online censorship moves by Pakistani officials and comes as authorities lock down the capital Islamabad and clash with thousands of anti-government protesters calling for the release of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan.
Banning VPNs — a tool that helps users secure a private online connection and protect data — would deal a big blow to freedom of expression and batter Pakistan’s already fragile economy, observers say. A top information technology lobby group is warning that the crackdown could cost the sector $1 billion in its first year.
Pakistan has banned or disrupted access to several social media and chat platforms such as X, formerly Twitter, and WhatsApp, leaving millions to depend on VPNs.
“Authorities are flagrantly implementing measures to ban the usage of VPNs, which will be detrimental not just for socioeconomic … [reasons] but it will also curb free expression and access to information,” Hajira Maryam, a spokesperson for Amnesty Tech, an arm of rights group Amnesty International, told Nikkei Asia.
This month, the government ran a trial run to temporarily block VPNs. The telecom authority has said it will ban VPNs unless they are registered with the government, but officials have already warned that nonbusiness networks won’t get a green light.
The registration process, ushered in by the government earlier this year, could cast doubt on the security of a company’s data, said Nighat Dad, executive director of the Digital Rights Foundation.
“If the business handles sensitive information of foreign clients or partners, there is a possibility that it could lead to a reputational impact on that business, which in turn could have a financial impact,” she added.
Pakistani police officers stand in front of shipping containers to block an anti-government rally in Islamabad on Nov. 24 by supporters of jailed ex-Prime Minister Imran Khan. © ReutersPakistan’s IT sector, which creates software for foreign companies and provides outsource services such as accounting and human resources, could take a major hit from the ban. The sector exported $3.2 billion in IT and IT-enabled services in the last fiscal year.
Sajjad Mustafa Syed, chairman of top IT sector body the Pakistan Software Houses Association, told local media that the imminent crackdown could mean a $1 billion loss for the industry in the first year, and jack up operational costs by $150 million annually.
The head of a business process outsourcing company in Pakistan’s commercial capital, Karachi, is bracing for the impact.
“The stifling of the internet in recent months has cost us multiple foreign clients,” said Ali, the business owner, who asked that his first name not be used. “We need multiple IP addresses to protect our client’s data, and blocking unregistered VPNs will kill our business.”
Pakistan in August installed a web management system (WMS), which allows authorities to block content, monitor and control internet traffic at a gateway level on national security grounds. Internet speeds slowed markedly and critics said the move amounted to putting up a firewall, similar to China’s efforts aimed at preventing residents from accessing information it sees as detrimental or potentially destabilizing.
The system was announced a couple of months after Myanmar’s military government launched a bid to shut off access to VPNs, while internet access was cut temporarily during anti-government protests in Bangladesh this summer.
Experts, however, doubt Pakistan has the ability or resources to implement internet-control measures on similar to those overseen by Beijing or Moscow.
“Many states have passed laws banning unlicensed VPNs, but it’s difficult to completely ban all VPN technologies in practice. Different VPN protocols can be used to bypass censorship technologies, resulting in a cat-and-mouse game,” said Maryam at Amnesty Tech. “It is also unclear how the government will differentiate between ‘registered’ and ‘unregistered’ VPNs, a distinction that is harder to implement in practice.”
The looming Dec. 1 deadline comes as authorities locked down Islamabad and halted mobile services to block thousands of anti-government supporters marching toward the city in a show of support for the country’s ex-Prime Minister Khan.
The former cricket star was ousted in a 2022 no-confidence motion and imprisoned last year on a raft of charges, including corruption and abuse of power. From prison, Khan called for the protests over charges he dismissed as politically motivated.
“The imminent ban would affect journalists’ ability to freely report on critical developments and severely undermine citizens’ rights to stay informed,” said Beh Lih Yi, Asia program coordinator for the Committee to Protect Journalists. “Pakistan authorities must scrap this proposal, which amounts to a new censorship regime because people’s lives and livelihoods depend on access to timely and accurate information.”
source : asia.nikkei