Facebook, Instagram continue ban on Taliban content

Facebook has said it will continue to ban pro-Taliban content under "U.S. law" in light of fallout from the U.S. military's withdrawal from Afghanistan after 20 years.

"The Taliban is sanctioned as a terrorist organization under U.S. law and they are banned them from our services under our Dangerous Organization policies," a Facebook spokesperson told FOX Business. "This means we remove accounts maintained by or on behalf of the Taliban and prohibit praise, support, and representation of them."

The spokesperson added that Facebook, which owns Instagram and WhatsApp, has a "dedicated team of Afghanistan experts, who are native Dari and Pashto speakers and have knowledge of local context, helping to identify and alert us to emerging issues on the platform."

"Our teams are closely monitoring this situation as it evolves. 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," the spokesperson said.

The statement from Facebook comes after The Washington Post reported on Sunday that members of the Taliban were using WhatsApp, an encrypted messaging app, to contact residents of Kabul directly.

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The extremist group said it was "in charge of security for Kabul" in messages obtained by the Post, which listed phone numbers in different neighborhoods that residents were encouraged to call if they witnessed "irresponsible" behavior such as looting.

"The Islamic Emirate assures you that no one should be in panic of feeling fear," one WhatsApp message said, according to the Post. "Taliban is taking over the city without fighting and no one will be at risk."

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WhatsApp said its policies including "banning accounts that appear to represent themselves as official accounts of the Taliban" and that the messaging platform is "seeking more information from relevant U.S. authorities given the evolving situation in Afghanistan."

Meanwhile, Twitter’s standards were called into question on Sunday after users pointed out that a key Taliban spokesman has been using the platform to give updates about the group’s advance within the country while former President Trump’s account remains permanently suspended.

Zabihullah Mujahid’s account was not verified but has nearly 280,000 followers and is regularly cited by major news outlets. He recently tweeted an update on "military units" entering Kabul. He wrote that their "advance is continuing normally."

"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," a Twitter spokesperson said in a statement. "We will continue to proactively enforce our rules and review content that may violate Twitter Rules, specifically policies against glorification of violence, platform manipulation and spam."

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The Taliban swept into Afghanistan’s capital Sunday after the government collapsed and the embattled president joined an exodus of his fellow citizens and foreigners, signaling the end of a costly two-decade U.S. campaign to remake the country.

The Taliban is known for carrying out attacks that have killed thousands of civilians in the country. The Taliban, from 1996 to 2001, barred women from receiving educations or leaving a house without a male relative, Reuters reported.

Fox News' Edmund DeMarche and The Associated Press contributed to this report.