YouTube Alphabet Inc. said on Tuesday that he was blocking accounts he believed to be owned and operated by the Taliban amid US social media efforts to publicly explain their rules regarding the group that controls Afghanistan.
After US-led forces withdrew most of the remnants of troops from the country last month, the Taliban’s campaign has accelerated. Taliban insurgents occupied the capital, Kabul, on Sunday.
His return raised concerns about the suppression of freedom of expression and human rights, especially women’s rights, as well as fears that the country could once again become a space for global terrorism.
Separately, the Financial Times reported that Facebook’s WhatsApp messaging service had closed a hotline for complaints created by the Taliban after they seized Kabul.
A WhatsApp spokesman declined to comment, but said the service was required to block accounts that appear to be official Taliban accounts under US law.
The report said the complaints number, which was a hotline for civilians reporting violence, looting or other problems, was blocked by Facebook on Tuesday along with other official Taliban channels.
Facebook said Monday that it declares the Taliban a terrorist group and bans it, as well as content that supports the group, on its platforms.
YouTube, which was asked about the block, declined to comment.