Is Pakistan using a firewall to censor social media platforms? | Explained

Pakistani media outlets reported in the past week that the country plans to implement a Chinese-style firewall online.

Pakistani media outlets reported in the past week that the country plans to implement a Chinese-style firewall to block users from accessing social media platforms.

Pakistan Observer and Daily Ausaf claim the government is ready to set up a ‘National Firewall’ to stop people from accessing X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, and YouTube. These outlets also noted that there are plans on filtering keywords to enforce the policy and block unwanted content. Other media reports claim even those using virtual private networks (VPNs) to access the internet would be hit by this digital firewall.

However, media outlet Samaa on June 10 quoted Pakistan’s Information Minister Atta Tarar as saying that no ‘Chinese-style firewall’ was being set up, though he did speak about the need to crack down on hate speech and misinformation.

Such conflicting reports reveal the lack of clarity regarding the current status of Pakistan’s potential firewall and its implementation. But, it must be noted that Pakistan does have a history of curtailing people’s access to the Internet, either through website or social media blocks. Some examples include a Twitter block in 2017 that was flagged by the company itself, and internet disruptions earlier this year around the time of the country’s elections.

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Simply put, firewalls are security tools that stop online traffic from reaching certain sites. They can prevent malicious actors from targeting individual users’ computer systems or home networks, and even thwart cyber threats on specific websites.

Though in recent times they are associated with censorship by oppressive governments, firewalls were meant to be a security tool. In fact, if you look at the settings of your personal computer, you will likely see options to set up firewalls of your own with varying restriction levels. A firewall can be a physical device, or a software-based tool. It depends on a specific user’s needs.