Pakistan to implement National Firewall to ‘control’ Social Media

Islamabad: The federal government is set to install a national firewall aimed at regulating content on major social media platforms such as X, Facebook, and YouTube.

Sources privy to the development told Daily Ausaf that this move is designed to curb the spread of undesirable material by inspecting IP addresses and filtering keywords. The firewall will also tackle the use of virtual private networks (VPNs), although initial restrictions on VPNs have faced resistance from the corporate sector. The introduction of this system follows the government’s ongoing efforts to manage and monitor online content in compliance with national regulations.

The new firewall will inspect information from different internet protocol addresses, identify locations generating propaganda material, and block or reduce the visibility of such content.

The system will include keyword filtering to detect and camouflage undesirable content, preventing it from being visible to outside users.

This firewall will monitor Facebook, YouTube, and X. Measures are also being prepared to control virtual private networks (VPNs). Despite the government blocking X for several months, many users continue accessing it through VPNs. Initial actions against VPNs had angered the corporate community, so the authorities have paused the restriction for now.

The X blockade has reduced its use by almost half, from 4.5 million to 2.4 million users in Pakistan. The management of X looks like it is gradually complying with the federal government’s demands to block accounts that spread controversial content or discuss sensitive information openly on the micro-blogging website.

It is pertinent to mention here that in April, the Interior Ministry presented a comprehensive report to the Islamabad High Court on why X was blocked in Pakistan. The report claimed that X was not registered in Pakistan and does not adhere to Pakistani laws.

The report said X’s non-compliance with Pakistani laws led to its blockage. The Interior Ministry boldly declared at the time that the request to block X does not infringe upon fundamental rights.