The Pakistani government continues its crackdown on Internet freedom in the country with an apparent ban on social media app Bluesky. The move comes as VPN use is being restricted in the country, but it is unclear at this stage how the best VPN services will be affected.

According to data from Internet monitoring group NetBlocks, Bluesky was restricted overnight on November 19-20, with users reporting problems accessing the app.

Bluesky has seen a significant surge in users in recent weeks as the app has reached 20 million users and continues to grow; Bluesky is widely seen as an alternative to the social media app X (formerly Twitter), and was created by Twitter co-founder and developed by former CEO Jack Dorsey.

X has been banned in Pakistan since February, and the app can only be accessed via VPN. The government is trying to crack down on the use of VPNs, calling them “un-Islamic.”

Despite the desire to ban VPNs, government officials continue to use them. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif regularly posts on X, and one can only assume that he uses VPNs for that purpose.

This is another alarming moment for Internet freedom in Pakistan. The government and the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) have already begun restricting VPNs, announcing that all VPNs must be registered with the PTA by November 30.

The PTA stated that VPNs can only be used for commercial purposes by entities such as companies, banks, and embassies. Individual use is permitted, but only for freelancers working for these organizations.

IP addresses must be provided at registration, and all registered VPNs may be monitored and tracked, with no privacy provided to users.

At this stage, VPNs still appear to be functioning in Pakistan, but the situation could change quickly: in early November, a VPN failure occurred in Pakistan, affecting many VPN servers and leaving users unable to connect. At the time, the government blamed a technical glitch, but this may be a sign of things to come.

VPNs can be used to circumvent restrictions and access content that is blocked in Pakistan and countries around the world; users wishing to access Bluesky can do so via VPN. Due to the unclear nature of VPNs in Pakistan, it may be best to sign up with one of the best free VPNs.

The top free VPNs offer a good level of privacy, fast transmission speeds, and server locations large enough to meet most people's needs. By signing up for a free VPN, you can move across various VPN providers without losing any money, even if there are further restrictions.

Those who want to take it a step further can use an anonymous browser such as Tor to provide another layer of protection; Tor grants anonymity through an encrypted onion network, allowing anonymous communication and surveillance protection.