Afghanistan: Facebook bans the Taliban and all supportive content

In a bid to stifle the Taliban, Facebook has confirmed the organisation, and all content supporting it, is banned from the platform, classifying the organisation as a terrorist group.

The social media giant says it has engaged a dedicated team of Afghan experts to monitor and remove content linked to the organisation.

The Taliban is known for using aggressive social media practices to communicate its message to a wider audience.

After 20 years of a US-led military presence in Afghanistan, tasked with building up the country’s army and Governmental systems, the US’ departure led to a swift and unforgiving take over of the nation by the Taliban, shocking the world and many residents.

Its rapid take over has also raised fresh debate about how technology and communications firms should respond to content related to the Taliban.

“The Taliban is sanctioned as a terrorist organization under US law and we have banned them from our services under our Dangerous Organization policies. This means we remove accounts maintained by or on behalf of the Taliban and prohibit praise, support, and representation of them,” a Facebook spokesperson told the BBC.

The company also confirmed to the BBC that the ban applies to all its platforms, including Instagram and WhatsApp.