According to The Washington Post, the propaganda arm of Islamic State used Amazon Web Services for content that promoted extremism. Nida-e Haqq, the media arm of the group, posted messages to the website in Urdu, including those celebrating the 170-person suicide bombing in Kabul. The website was removed by Amazon after The Post reported its existence. This is because Amazon prohibits clients from using its services inciting violence and terror.
Amazon has disabled content for the Nida-e-Haqq App, which recently displayed an image of a Kabul bomber wearing a suicide vest. It is currently password-protected so it cannot be viewed, but according to the online domain records The Post found, it has been active since April. A spokesperson for Amazon, Casey McGee, stated that the publication had been informed by Casey McGee: "Following an investigation we have disabled a site that was linked with this app because it was in violation the AWS Acceptable Usage Policy."
Social networks are currently dealing with extremist-related content and Taliban. This organization has been spreading its message via social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Now, the websites must decide whether they should update their policies on dealing with Taliban content or if they have to ensure that their existing rules of violence and terror are being properly enforced.
Amazon did not say how Nida-e-Haqq was able to evade detection for at most four months. It wasn't trying to hide the content it posted. However, it is possible that the company didn't even know about the website. The Post stated that Amazon might not be actively policing the content of its clients, but instead relies on complaints.
Parler's AWS hosting was suspended in January after multiple posts were found on the social media site "that clearly encourage or incite violence." Parler sued Amazon, alleging antitrust violations. However, the company claimed it had sent several warnings to the website about violent posts before the takedown. Parler's attempts to get AWS to restore his service were ultimately rejected by a judge. This was due to the dangers posed in part by the "inflammatory rhetoric" on the social media network.
