Firewall to be installed to control social media

Islamabad: The government of Pakistan has decided to install a firewall to control social media.

The government of Pakistan has agreed to the internet service providers to install a firewall which will have a special feature ‘Deep Packet Inspection’ capability.

According to reports, Deep Packet Inspection will be able to see up to Layer-7 of data. Deep Packet Inspection will also filter social media data, while firewalls will be able to block data at the IP level instead of the application.

It is also reported that the firewall will identify propaganda points on social media and will also have the ability to block propaganda points and IDs.

On the other hand, the use cases for the installation of the firewall have been exchanged. The firewall will be installed on the internet service provider companies. Some of the cost of installing the firewall will be paid by the government of Pakistan, while the rest of the cost will be paid by the internet service provider companies. In this regard, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) also agreed with the internet service providers.

While, the position of the IT Ministry is that the companies providing internet services are obliged to stop illegal content while the installation of firewall is the jurisdiction of PTA. However, the authority is reluctant to give a position regarding the installation of firewall and the PTA spokesperson has still not responded even after several days.