PTA Delays the Deadline for VPN Registration

PTA decided on Sunday not to move further with the ban on VPNs and delays the deadline for VPN registration.

VPNs will continue to function even after the previously stated date of November 30 thanks to this decision.

The PTA previously warned that unregistered VPNs would be disabled and set a deadline of November 30 for registration. But even though the deadline has passed, the regulator has decided not to act right away on unregistered VPNs.

According to the sources of PTA, while decisions are being made in response to Ministry of Interior directives, the registration will remain open.

The action was taken after the PTA was asked by the Interior Ministry to prohibit unregistered VPNs. They claimed that these networks were being used for illicit purposes like access to pornographic material and terrorism.

But according to Interior Ministry officials, this request will now be rescinded. Following discussions with the Ministry of Law, which made it clear that the government lacked the legal capacity to outlaw VPNs under current legislation, the decision was made.

PECA 2016’s Section 34, which gives the government the power to restrict illegal internet content but not technologies like VPNs, is the main legal issue.

The Ministry of Law claims that the government may have difficulty in defending a VPN ban in court because PECA concentrates on content control rather than access strategies.

VPNs are mainly used to connect to applications, not to distribute illegal content, according to a senior official from the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication.

The official pointed out that this technical distinction may be important if the issue were to be challenged in court, where the court would probably support the ongoing use of VPNs.

The PTA is still accepting VPN registrations even after the registration deadline has passed. Approximately 27,000 VPNs have registered so far, and another 7,000 are anticipated to do so in the days ahead.