The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has successfully completed an initial trial to shut down unregistered Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) and begin a complete crackdown starting in December, according to official sources told ProPakistani.
A second trial is planned in the coming days, sources added.
Unregistered VPNs will be granted a grace period until November 30 to comply with registration requirements. The PTA has announced that a nationwide crackdown will commence from December 1 to block VPNs that fail to register within the stipulated time.
The Ministry of Interior last week directed PTA to block all unregistered VPNs after claiming they were security risks. The ministry said these VPNs can potentially expose sensitive data and enable access to objectionable content. As part of its mandate, the PTA is responsible for ensuring such content remains inaccessible in Pakistan.
The PTA is reportedly deliberating on the second trial and plans to give unregistered VPNs users a two-week notice before initiating enforcement measures.