How censorship is breaking the internet in Pakistan

Pakistanis have been battling painfully slow internet connections for almost a month - an incident that strikes a hard blow to the national economy. While the problem is certainly undeniable, it isn’t yet clear who’s to blame for it. Experts hold the government responsible for Pakistan’s internet downfall, accusing authorities of actively building a China-style firewall. Government representatives, however, strongly dismissed the allegations. Their official statement instead blames citizens’ increased usage of the best VPN apps to bypass online geo-restrictions. Since February, people in Pakistan haven’t been able to access X (formerly known as Twitter) without a VPN. Nonetheless, censorship…