Facebook bans Taliban-related content under ‘Dangerous Organization policies’

Social media giant Facebook on Monday confirmed that it has banned all Taliban-related content from its platform. The American company has further dedicated a team of Afghan experts to monitor and remove content linked to the Islamic group.

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Facebook designated the Taliban as a terrorist group. “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.

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“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,” they added.

Taliban members have used social media, especially the end-to-end encrypted service offered by WhatsApp to communicate with despite the company prohibiting it under rules against dangerous organisations, Reuters reported.  For years, the Taliban has used social media to spread its messages and recruit members.

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The Taliban spokesmen have hundreds of thousands of followers on Twitter. They tweeted updates during the country’s takeover.

Facebook added that it does not make decisions about the recognition of national governments but instead follows the authority of the international community. Its policies apply to all its platforms – WhatsApp and Instagram.  Facebook told the BBC that it would take action if it found accounts on the app to be linked to the group.

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Twitter, too, has policies against violent organisations and hateful conduct. The micro-blogging website does not allow groups that promote terrorism or violence against civilians. YouTube is yet to release an official statement. 

The major social media platforms had earlier this year banned Donald Trump and some of his associates following the January 6 Capitol Hill seige.