The utilization of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) in Pakistan has witnessed a notable surge, as reported by TechRadar, owing to recurrent disruptions of social media platforms in recent months.
Internet services, particularly access to social media platforms, have intermittently experienced downtime in the country. The first occurrence transpired on January 7, when internet users encountered sluggish or non-existent accessibility to platforms like X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
Although the government remained silent on the matter, independent observer NetBlocks noted that the disruption coincided with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) preparing to launch its election fundraising telethon.
A similar issue resurfaced on January 20 as internet users faced accessibility challenges during PTI’s second online power show ahead of the 2024 Election.
Quoting an official from VPN provider Proton VPN, TechRadar highlighted a consistent increase in VPN users within the country over recent months. According to Samuele Kaplun, VPN Lead at Proton VPN, there was a 400% surge in sign-ups to Proton VPN in early January 2024, with daily users averaging 40% higher than two months prior.
On February 8, the voting day, internet and mobile phone services were once again suspended in Pakistan, causing communication problems for voters due to the outage.
NetBlocks reported that internet blackouts were in effect in multiple regions of Pakistan, in addition to mobile network disruptions.
According to Top10VPN, the demand for VPNs increased by 110% from February 5 onwards amid multiple internet shutdowns.
The recent outage primarily affected X, which has experienced intermittent outages in Pakistan over the last two days. The outage commenced on Saturday night amid allegations of electoral fraud.
NetBlocks posted on X, indicating a new national-scale disruption to X/Twitter in Pakistan amid escalating unrest and protests over allegations of election fraud.
