Facebook says it will keep ban on Taliban content

Facebook said it will keep its existing ban on content that promotes the Taliban in place after the Islamist militant group regained control of Afghanistan over the weekend.

Facebook said it will keep in place a ban on accounts that praise, support or represent the Taliban from its platforms based on its designation as a sanctioned terrorist organization under U.S. law.

“Facebook does not make decisions about the recognized government in any particular country but instead respects the authority of the international community in making these determinations. Regardless of who holds power, we will take the appropriate action against accounts and content that breaks our rules,” a Facebook company spokesperson said in a statement.

Where other platforms stand: A YouTube spokesperson confirmed the company is also keeping a “longstanding approach” of banning content promoting the Afghan Taliban, based on its designation as a global terrorist entity by the U.S. Treasury Department.

“As such, if we find an account believed to be owned and operated by the Afghan Taliban, we terminate it. Further, our policies prohibit content that incites violence,” the YouTube spokesperson said in a statement.

Twitter is not imposing a broad ban on the content in the way YouTube and Facebook have stated, but a spokesperson said the platform will “continue to proactively enforce” its policies that ban glorification of violence.

“The situation in Afghanistan is rapidly evolving. We’re also witnessing people in the country using Twitter to seek help and assistance. Twitter’s top priority is keeping people safe, and we remain vigilant,” the spokesperson said.