YouTube says it does not allow Taliban-affiliated accounts

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.

August 18, 2021 09:56 am | Updated 06:19 pm IST

YouTube says it does not allow Taliban-affiliated accounts.

YouTube says it does not allow Taliban-affiliated accounts.

Alphabet Inc’s YouTube said on Tuesday it has a long held policy of not allowing accounts believed to be operated by the Taliban on its site, as social media companies faced questions about how they would handle the group that fast gained control of Afghanistan.

(Subscribe to our Today's Cache newsletter for a quick snapshot of top 5 tech stories. Click here to subscribe for free.)

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 Inc'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 U.S. 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.

Also Read | Analysis | How Kabul fell

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 Inc, which is reviewing its rules for world leaders on the platform, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the same question.

What the Taliban's return means for India | In Focus podcast

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.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.