Facebook continues these actions against the new regime in place in Afghanistan. After blocking the Taliban’s accounts on its platform, as well as on WhatsApp and Instagram which it owns, the social media giant unveiled a series of measures aimed at protecting the accounts of Afghan users. “During the past week, our teams have been working day and night to do everything possible to help keep people safe,” tweeted Nathaniel Gleicher, the director of safety regulations for the California group.
Following the recommendations of human rights defenders, journalists and NGOs, the social network has implemented a feature that allows a user to “lock their account with one click”. Lock prevents people who are not in his contacts from uploading or sharing his profile picture or from seeing the content posted on his feed. Instagram users in Afghanistan will receive notifications informing them of methods to protect their account.
Guides to protect your online activity.
“We have also temporarily withdrawn the possibility of viewing a user’s ‘list of friends’ and looking for profiles there for Facebook accounts in Afghanistan”, against the risk of targeting people possibly wanted by the Taliban, a added Nathaniel Gleicher. He then recommends organizations and guides to protect his online activity.
On Tuesday, Facebook shut down a hotline set up on WhatsApp by the Taliban to respond to possible complaints from Afghans. “The Taliban are sanctioned as a terrorist organization under US law and we have banned them from our services under our policies on ‘dangerous organizations’. This means that we are removing accounts managed by or on behalf of the Taliban and prohibiting their praise, support and representation, ”a Facebook spokesperson recalled.
Zabihullah Mujahid very critical of Facebook
The Taliban responded by criticizing Facebook during their first press conference, which was broadcast online Tuesday. Asked about their intentions in terms of respect for freedom of expression, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid replied that “the question should be put to those who ensure that they are the guarantors of freedom of expression but who do not do not authorize the publication of all information. The Facebook company, it is to them that we must ask the question ”.
The Islamist group announced that it would form a government, but “no matter who holds power, we will take appropriate action against accounts and content that violate our rules,” Facebook insisted. The platform said it has a team of dedicated experts, who speak the country’s languages, to help them identify possible issues.