Facebook designates Taliban as 'Terrorist Group', bans content; WhatsApp to follow suit

Social media giant Facebook has said that it has banned the Taliban and all of the group’s content from its platforms designating the militants to be a ‘terrorist’ organisation. As per ANI, the tech giant has said that it has dedicated an entire team of Afghan experts to not only monitor but also to remove the content that is linked to the extremist group which had declared on August 16 that it controls Afghanistan. For several years now, the Taliban has used social media to broadcast its messages. 

The Taliban is sanctioned as a terrorist organisation 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," Facebook's spokesperson told ANI.

We also have a dedicated team of Afghanistan experts, who are native Dari and Pashto speakers and have knowledge of local context, helping to identify and alert us to emerging issues on the platform. Our teams are closely monitoring this situation as it evolves," the spokesperson said.

As per the report, the social media giant has also said that it does not make any decisions about the recognition of national governments but instead adhered to the “authority of the international community.” Facebook has also stressed that the policy applies to all of its platforms including its flagship social media networks, Instagram and WhatsApp. However, BBC cited other media reports stating that the insurgents have been using WhatsApp to communicate.

Facebook does not make decisions about the recognised government in any particular country but instead respects the authority of the international community in making these determinations. Regardless of who holds power, we will take the appropriate action against accounts and content that breaks our rules," spokesperson said.

Facebook to take action on accounts linked to Taliban

Facebook has also said that it would take action against the accounts if they are found to be linked to the Taliban. Since the group took control of the war-stricken nation after two decades and the Ashraf Ghani-led government fell, rival social media platforms have also faced scrutiny over how they are tackling Taliban-related content. 

Twitter, on the other hand, responded to BBC’s questions by highlighting the microblogging platform’s policy against violent organisations and other hateful conduct. According to Twitter rules, the platform prohibits the promotion of terrorism or any form of violence against civilians. At the time of writing this article, YouTube had not responded to the British media outlet’s request for comment on dealing with Taliban-related content.

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