[🇵🇰] Dodging censorship: VPN demand surges ‘6,000% in Pakistan’

[ghazi]

Source : https://tribune.com.pk/story/2458579/dialogue-with-imran-mandatory-says-elahi

Dodging censorship: VPN demand surges ‘6,000% in Pakistan’​

Internet privacy company Proton says it had seen major surges in demand in a number of places over past 12 months

AFP
March 06, 2024

ILLUSTRATION: ET

GENEVA: Internet privacy company Proton said on Wednesday it would offer a network of free VPN servers for use in many countries holding elections this year that have a history of censorship and repression.

Switzerland-based Proton said its aim was to help local populations circumvent government censorship, and to prevent interference or misinformation during the election campaigns.

The company maintains that tracking demand for its VPN services is a means of early detection of government crackdowns and attacks on free speech.

Proton said it had seen major surges in demand in a number of places over the past 12 months. It said it had seen demand hikes of 4,700 per cent in Nepal, 6,000 per cent in Pakistan, 25,000 per cent in Gabon and 100,000 per cent in Senegal, "all in response to political or civil unrest".

In a year when around half the global population will head to the polls, Proton said it was vital to provide broad access to virtual private network services, which can be used to skirt internet censorship and freely access information.

Venezuela, South Sudan, Sri Lanka and Turkey were among the countries where the company said it would provide its free servers.

"2024 is set to be a seismic year for democracy around the world," Proton chief Andy Yen said in a statement.

"Many of the countries holding elections have a questionable track record for free speech and a free electoral process," he pointed out.

"Protecting free speech and fighting censorship is a core part of our mission and we're committed to doing what we can to help voters around the world exercise their fundamental rights."

Proton, also known for its encrypted email service, said that for two weeks before and after key elections, it would offer free local servers to users who appear to be logging on from the country where the vote is taking place.

The technical implementation will vary depending on the circumstances in the country, the company said.

It pointed out that it could use its "smart routing technology" allowing it to offer VPN servers in countries where it is unable to have a physical presence.

The servers are located in nearby locations but still have the ability to bypass government censorship, it said.

"This means local users will be able to access the free, unfiltered internet at high speeds without servers being overloaded by users from the rest of the world," Proton maintained.

 

[ghazi]

X disruption​

Editorial
March 7, 2024

DESPITE a court order directing the restoration of citizens’ access to popular microblogging platform X and past rulings against the blockage of internet services, the social media service has remained inaccessible in Pakistan for more than two weeks.

Though such decisions are usually officially ‘justified’ by the authorities based on some pretext or the other, this time, the state does not seem too bothered about providing any explanation as to why users are being denied access to X.

This ‘strategic ambiguity’ from the authorities has added to the confusion surrounding the status of the service in Pakistan.

For example, according to an account shared by one of the lawyers representing a case against the suspension of X, a representative of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority — which, among other things, also regulates internet access — flatly denied that the service was blocked during a Tuesday hearing on the matter in the Sindh High Court.

He then attempted to convince the judge by pointing to an open X application on his phone as ‘proof’ of a claim that flew in the face of the findings of various international internet watchdogs.

The question arises: if the country’s top regulator is claiming that it is not doing the blocking, who, then, is preventing access to X?

The recently departed caretaker government had acted as if the matter was no big deal: none of the relevant ministers had deigned to comment on or explain why anyone within Pakistan’s territorial boundaries could not access one of the most popular social media platforms in the world without a VPN, even though they were posting on the platform periodically during their last days in office.

The silence from official quarters has continued even though new assemblies have been sworn in, which suggests that the authorities aren’t very concerned that a major internet service remains suspended, apparently without the knowledge of the country’s top regulator.

Given the state’s nonchalance, one would naturally assume that the authorities are either afraid to speak openly on the matter or are deliberately misleading the courts while hoping that the citizenry will quietly accept this new ‘status quo’ over time.

Neither is an acceptable scenario. X is a valuable source of information for millions around the world, and access to it cannot be denied arbitrarily. The state must, at the very least, explain itself.

Published in Dawn, March 7th, 2024