| A digital dictatorship could be coming. The Pakistan Telecom | The House [M. Inc]

| A digital dictatorship could be coming. The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) is moving ahead with implementing a policy that will give them complete control over who can see what on the internet, and in getting this control, they might break the internet altogether across the country.  

The PTA is the de-facto authority in Pakistan which controls which websites can and cannot be accessed from Pakistan. It has till now exerted this control by ordering the Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to block the websites it does not to be accessed from Pakistan through a Centralised Domain Name System (C-DNS). Now, it wants to extend that control and be able to block the websites on its own by taking control over the DNS servers via the C-DNS.

The fact that there is already an effective mechanism through which the government controls which websites can be accessed from Pakistan, puts a question mark on the motives of this policy. The move can curb internet freedom, violate internet privacy of individuals, but most importantly the new system is against the way DNS operates and could actually bring down the internet for everyone in Pakistan.

Read more https://profit.pakistantoday.com.pk/2022/06/20/under-a-new-rule-the-pta-seeks-total-internet-control/