Facebook has blocked the Taliban's WhatsApp channels and official group which the organization has allegedly used to communicate. Currently, the country of Afghanistan is under the Taliban's rule after seizing control of their government when their political leaders fled the country due to threats.
The tipping point was when the US military did the same under President Joe Biden's orders.
Facebook Blocks WhatsApp Channels, Groups Used by the Taliban
According to the Financial Times, a WhatsApp spokesperson has confirmed that Facebook and the instant messaging company have blocked the Taliban's official channels and group on the page.
The social media companies did so under the US Sanction Law and have only blocked the said "official accounts" which were used by the extremist group to communicate. The recent controversies in Kabul and other regions of Afghanistan have been the center of attention in recent times, especially as their government collapsed.
Now, the Taliban forces have seized control of everything, and even the Afghan army cannot fight back against the group. Facebook and WhatsApp have jurisdiction with regards to the usage of their app, even though it is in a foreign country, especially as they have developmental rights over it.
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US Sanction Law
The US Sanction Law on Afghanistan has centered on the war crimes case, and it was only last year when the International Criminal Court has received the appeal from the country. The country has sanctioned the Middle Eastern country for any terrorist movements, courtesy of the Taliban.
The ICC has processed these appeals, and it was under investigation whether US forces have committed war crimes against the Afghan people or government.
As sanctioned by the US, companies like Facebook have certain authority with their applications or services, hence their move to block the Taliban which uses WhatsApp.
Facebook, WhatsApp Data Usage
Facebook and WhatsApp have made their effort to help and stop these Islam extremist groups from any acts of terrorism that they would communicate via the app. It would also help in impeding their movements and communications with each other as tension rises and threatens those that were left in the country.
WhatsApp was still the center of attention, especially as people were still in a boycott of the app due to its data usage and Facebook's stake over personal information.
Earlier this year, WhatsApp faced a boycott from users of the instant messaging app, especially as people felt that Facebook has stakes over their data.
Additionally, it faced controversies with Apple that went against WhatsApp's Privacy Policy that asks to use data for ad tracking purposes, something which the Cupertino giant aims to remove.
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Written by Isaiah Richard
