“The Pak-US Tech investment conference will be a pillar for the IT industry,” stated Shaza Fatima Khawaja, Minister of State for Information Technology (IT).

In the United States, she was giving a speech at the 2024 Pak-US Tech Investment Conference.

Shaza Fatima stated that Pakistan’s exports have grown by 25% and that our goal is to reach $25 billion in exports in accordance with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s orders.

According to the State Minister, there has been progress in giving businesses a safe online environment.

In the global cyber security index, Pakistan has been assigned the same tier-1 rank as the United States and Japan, she said.

The unregistered VPNs have been temporarily restricted for whitelisting purposes. Sources within the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) classified unregistered VPNs as a ‘security risk’ for Pakistan, as they may provide access to ‘important information.’

The PTA has advised enterprises, including IT companies, software houses, freelancers, and banks, to register their IP addresses to guarantee ongoing VPN access and uninterrupted internet services for authorized customers. Registrants must disclose their intended purpose and delineate their commercial operations.

The PTA commenced the registration of VPNs in 2010, and to date, around 20,500 VPNs have been registered, according to sources.

VPNs are widely utilized globally to circumvent restricted content. In Pakistan, residents have employed VPNs to access the social media network X (previously Twitter), which has been prohibited for several months.

The government of Pakistan has declared that it will not remove the ban on X unless the platform officially registers within the nation.

Previously, to guarantee seamless commercial operations for software houses, contact centers, freelancers, and foreign embassies, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) initiated a one-window operation for the whitelisting of IP and VPN registrations.

The goal of the proposed bill, which will be presented to parliament next week, according to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, is to lessen the “harm” that social media causes to Australian youngsters.

“This one’s for the parents… They share my extreme concern for our children’s online safety. Albanese expressed his desire for Australian families to understand that the government is on their side.

Although the specifics are still being discussed, the government has stated that there would be no exceptions for parental agreement and that the ban will not apply to youngsters who are currently engaged on social media. Social media companies will have to demonstrate that they are taking appropriate precautions to keep minors off of their sites. There are no consequences for users, and the eSafety Commissioner, Australia’s internet regulator, will enforce the rule.

The law will go into effect 12 months after it is passed, and it will then be reviewed. Though perspectives on whether a ban is the right course of action vary, many experts concur that social media can negatively impact adolescents’ mental health. Some others think that rather than teaching kids how to use social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok securely, restrictions just postpone their introduction to these sites.

Age-verification procedures have encountered difficulties in other regions, such as the European Union, where similar limits have proven challenging. Major advocacy group Australia’s Child Rights Taskforce called the new law “too blunt” and asked the government to think about “safety standards” instead. In an open letter, the organization referenced UN recommendations for regulations that allow kids to interact with digital spaces in a secure way instead of limiting their access.

Some activists, however, are in favor of the ban, pointing to worries about kids being exposed to harmful content, false information, and cyberbullying. Currently, “excessive social media use is rewiring young brains within a critical window of psychological development, causing an epidemic of mental illness,” according to the 36Months initiative, which has amassed over 125,000 signatures. It contends that children are “not yet ready to navigate online social networks safely” until they are at least age 16.

Albanese stated that education alone is insufficient since it “assumes an equal power relationship.” This begs the question of whether the emphasis should instead be on educating kids how to manage the advantages and risks of the online environment.

“I don’t want to see some items that keep coming up on my system; I’m not sure about you. Let alone a 14-year-old who is so vulnerable,” he stated on Thursday. “These tech firms are really strong. These apps’ algorithms encourage users to act in particular ways.