Social media platforms now have complex policy decisions to make as a result of the U.S. military's hasty withdrawal from Afghanistan after more than two decades of occupation.
Although the Taliban is well-versed in social media for many years, companies that work with them will be questioned as the brutal and repressive group seeks out to establish itself as Afghanistan's legitimate governing body. Social media is a common tool for politicians and governments and will play a central role in the Taliban's efforts to consolidate control and move towards governing.
Facebook took some precautions early to protect its users against potential reprisals if the Taliban takes power. Nathaniel Gleicher, the Facebook CEO, announced new measures that the platform had implemented over the past week via Twitter. People in Afghanistan can now instantly lock their accounts with a click. This will hide posts from their timelines and prevent anyone not friends from sharing or downloading their profile pictures.
4/ We have created a tool that allows people in Afghanistan to lock their accounts with a single click. People who are not their friends cannot download, share or view their profile photo or view posts on their timeline if their profile is locked. pic.twitter.com/pUANh5uBgn Nathaniel Gleicher (@ngleicher) August 19, 2021
Facebook has also made it impossible for anyone to search and view any friend's list of people living in Afghanistan. Pop-up alerts on Instagram will inform Afghanistan-based users how to quickly lock their accounts.
Facebook has been banning the Taliban from its platform since long time, as per company rules against dangerous organisations. According to the U.S. law, the Taliban is considered a terrorist organization. This means that we will remove any accounts created by them or for their benefit and ban praise, support, and representation of them.
Although the U.S. State Department has not yet designated the Afghan Taliban as a terrorist organization, the Taliban operating from Pakistan is. Although it is not on the U.S. State Department's list of terrorist organizations, the Taliban based in Afghanistan is considered a terrorist organization according to the economic sanctions the U.S. imposed after 9/11.
Although the Taliban are also banned on Facebook-owned WhatsApp. However, WhatsApp's end-to-end encryption makes it more difficult to enforce those rules. In Afghanistan, WhatsApp is a common tool for communication. Both the Taliban and the Afghan military have used it to communicate in recent times. Although Facebook does not allow the Taliban to use its platforms, the Taliban used WhatsApp to communicate their plans to seize control of Afghanistan and discourage resistance. It was an astonishingly fast and frictionless sprint to power. As a way to help Afghans report crime or violence, the Taliban set up a WhatsApp account. However, Facebook quickly closed it down.
Monika Bickert, Facebook's vice president of content policy, stated earlier this week that even if the U.S. removes the Taliban from its list of terror groups sanctioned, the platform will reevaluate the situation and make its own determination. Bickert stated that we would need to conduct a policy analysis to determine if they still violate our dangerous organisations policy.
YouTube, like Facebook, maintains that the Taliban are banned from its platform. YouTube's decision appears to be in line with sanctions. This could change if the U.S. approaches to the Taliban change.
A YouTube spokesperson stated that YouTube adheres to all relevant sanctions and trade compliance laws. This includes applicable U.S. sanctions. We will terminate any account that we believe is owned or operated by the Afghan Taliban. Our policies also prohibit violence-inducing content.
Zabihullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesperson, continues to post regular updates on Twitter about the group's activities in Kabul. Qari Yousaf Ahmedi, another representative of the Taliban, freely posts on Twitter. Twitter does not have a blanket ban like YouTube and Facebook, but it will enforce its policies post-by-post.
Other platforms could be faced with the same decisions if the Taliban expands their social media presence. TechCrunchs did not reach out to TikTok for comment. However, TikTok previously stated to NBC that it regards the Taliban as a terrorist organization. It does not permit content that promotes them.
Although the Taliban does not appear to have an established foothold on social media, it is easy to see the former insurgency using alternative platforms to rebrand itself as the world watches.
Twitch did not comment on the possibility of the group using the platform. However, the company does have a policy that considers off-service conduct when banning users. This policy was created to address complaints of abuse and sexual harassment by Twitch streamers.
These new rules apply to accounts that are linked to violent extremism or terrorism, regardless of whether they take place on Twitch or not. This definition would prevent the Taliban from setting up a presence on Twitch, regardless of whether the U.S. removes or modifies its terrorist designations.
