The Taliban's return to power for the first time in 20 years
has raised fears of a crackdown on freedom of speech and human rights,
especially women's rights, and concerns that the country could again become a
hotspot for global terrorism.
Separately, the Financial Times reported that Facebook's
WhatsApp messaging service has shut down a complaints helpline for Afghans to
contact the Taliban, set up by the group after it took control of Kabul on
Sunday.
A WhatsApp spokesperson declined to comment on the action,
but said the service was obligated by US sanctions laws to ban accounts that
appear to represent themselves as official accounts of the Taliban.
The complaints number that was an emergency hotline for
civilians to report violence, looting or other problems was blocked by Facebook
on Tuesday, along with other official Taliban channels, the report said.
Facebook had on Monday said it designates the Taliban a
terrorist group and bans it and content supporting it from its platforms.
A Taliban spokesman accused Facebook of censorship at a news
conference on Tuesday, according to a translation of his remarks in a video
clip.
YouTube, when asked if it banned the Taliban on Monday,
declined to comment. But it said on Tuesday that its prohibition of the group
was a long-standing approach.
The Taliban's rapid takeover of Afghanistan poses challenges
for multiple major social media and messaging platforms on what and who should
be allowed on their platforms.
Asked if it would allow the Taliban to operate official
Afghan government Facebook pages or accounts, Facebook pointed to a statement
in which it said it respects the authority of the international community in
making determinations on recognised governments.
Twitter, which is reviewing its rules for world leaders on
the platform, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the same
question.
Taliban spokesmen with hundreds of thousands of followers
have tweeted updates during the country's takeover. A Twitter spokesperson said
in a statement that the network would review content that may violate its
rules, specifically against the glorification of violence or platform
manipulation, but did not answer questions on whether it has any particular
restrictions on the Taliban as a group or how it classifies violent
organisations.
© Reuters
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