Pakistan Seeks Firewalls Against Negative Propaganda On Social Media

The Government of Pakistan has resolved to take stern action against negative propaganda on social media, and the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) invited bids for the installation of firewalls.

According to media reports, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has floated tenders for installing firewalls as the government decided to step up against the negative propaganda that is conducted on social media.

Any internet service provider will be bound to install the next-generation firewall and application firewall.

Next-generation firewall systems will have deep packet inspection capability where it can inspect data of up to layer seven through DPI technology.

Read Also: Online Fraud Risks Increased with Artificial Intelligence (AI)

The next-generation firewall will provide the facility for real-time data monitoring, URL filtering, application control, and malware protection.

The next-generation firewall will also provide proactive measures against cyber security threats, while the web application firewall will monitor and filter data for web applications.

Electronic bids have been invited through the eProcurement System of PPRA, solicited by PTA.

In Pakistan, especially during the past few years, there has been a massive swell in the usage of social media, which has been accompanied by increasing fake news and negative propaganda.

Experts in cyber security explain that the next-generation firewalls will play their role in bettering the Internet security situation within Pakistan. The firewalls will block any negative propaganda, cyber attacks, malware, and other threats that come via the Internet.

This move has attracted public backlash in some quarters. Many saw it as the government’s move to curb freedom of expression. The argument is that it was a move by the government to silence its critics using the pretext of taming negative propaganda and other dissenting voices.