Taliban sources confirm that social media content is banned in Afghanistan

Sources in the Taliban government told BBC Afghanistan that restrictions have been imposed on content on some social media platforms in Afghanistan.

Sources at the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology said filters have been implemented to restrict certain types of content on sites including Facebook, Instagram and X.

It is not clear exactly what type of posts are subject to filtering. Some social media users in Kabul told the BBC that videos on their Facebook accounts were no longer viewable, and access to Instagram had been restricted.

These restrictions on social media content come a week after internet and communications services were cut across the country for two days.

This step It caused widespread problems For the citizens and that was the end of it He was received with celebration.

The 48-hour power outage disrupted businesses and flights, limited access to emergency services, and raised concerns about further alienating women and girls whose rights have been severely eroded since the hardline Islamist group returned to power in 2021.

Social media users in Afghanistan have been complaining about limited access to various platforms in various provinces since Tuesday.

A Taliban government source said: “Some kind of controls have been implemented to restrict certain types of content on platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and X.”

“Hopefully this time there won’t be any complete ban on the internet.

“Filtering is applied to almost the entire county and most counties are now covered.”

There is no official explanation from Taliban government officials for these restrictions.

“The restrictions have now been confirmed on several providers, and the pattern shows deliberate restriction,” cybersecurity organization NetBlocks said. Agence France-Presse reported that social sites have become intermittently available on smartphones.

A man working in a government office in the eastern province of Nangarhar told the BBC that he could open Facebook but could not see photos or play videos.

“The Internet as a whole is very slow,” he said.

Another user in southern Kandahar province, who runs a private business, said fiber internet service had been down since Tuesday, but mobile data was working, as Facebook and Instagram were “extremely slow.”

The Taliban government did not provide an explanation for the complete closure last week. However, a spokesman for the Taliban governor in northern Balkh province said last month that internet access had been blocked “to prevent vices”.

Since returning to power, the Taliban have imposed numerous restrictions in accordance with their interpretation of Islamic law.

Afghan women told the BBC that The Internet was a lifeline to the outside world Since the Taliban has prevented girls over the age of 12 from receiving education.

Employment options for women have also been severely restricted, and in September, books written by women were removed from universities.