Lahore
Pakistan’s National Assembly has been informed that the Web Monitoring System (WMS) is used to block online applications and websites in the country. During a recent session, the minister overseeing the Pakistan Telecom Authority (PTA) was questioned about the procedures for restricting online content.
The minister explained that under Section 37 of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) 2016, the PTA is required to block ‘unlawful content.’ The PTA uses the WMS for managing internet content and has blocked a total of 469 mobile applications, including 435 Android and 34 Apple apps. These blocks are related to content deemed against Islam, immoral, or fraudulent.
The WMS, acquired from the Canadian company Sandvine in 2018 for USD 18.5 million, was further upgraded in December 2023. This upgrade, which was tested on internet submarine cable landing stations, led to national internet outages and slowdowns, according to the PTA.
Despite attempts to block content at the gateway level, it is still accessible in Pakistan through VPNs. Social media platform X (formerly Twitter) has been blocked since February 17, and the website of the opposition party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf remains inaccessible. Government officials, however, continue to use X, possibly through VPNs.
