Facebook has banned the Taliban and has stated that it will remove all accounts associated with the ‘terrorist organisation’

Kabul: As several countries around the world react cautiously to the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan, social media giant Facebook announced on Tuesday that it has banned the terrorist organisation and will remove all content supporting the insurgents from its platforms.

According to Facebook, the Taliban is a terrorist organisation. The company also stated that it has a dedicated team of Afghan experts monitoring and removing content associated with the group.

The Taliban has used social media to spread its messages for years.

Its rapid takeover of Afghanistan poses new challenges for technology firms in terms of dealing with group-related content. “Under US law, the Taliban is designated as a “terrorist organisation,” and we have barred them from using our services under our Dangerous Organization policies. This means that we deactivate accounts maintained by or on behalf of the Taliban and prohibit praise, support, and representation of them “According to a Facebook spokesperson.

“We also have a dedicated team of Afghanistan experts who are native Dari and Pashto speakers with local context, assisting us in identifying and alerting us to emerging issues on the platform,” he added.
The social media behemoth stated that it does not make decisions on national government recognition, but rather defers to the “authority of the international community.”

The policy, according to Facebook, applies to all of its platforms, including its flagship social media network, Instagram, and WhatsApp. However, there are reports that the Taliban is communicating via WhatsApp.

Facebook stated that it would take action if it discovered accounts linked to the group on the app. Rival social media platforms have also come under fire for their handling of Taliban-related content.

As the Taliban retook control of Afghanistan, Taliban spokesmen used Twitter to update their hundreds of thousands of followers. In response to inquiries about the Taliban’s use of Twitter, a company spokesperson emphasised the company’s policy against violent organisations and hateful behaviour.

Twitter does not allow groups that promote terrorism or violence against civilians, according to its policies.