Facebook to block Taliban’s WhatsApp accounts. 1 other thing and a trivia

This line-up of stories will help you discover the latest happenings around the tech world, today.

1. Facebook to block Taliban’s WhatsApp accounts

American social media giant, Facebook, is set to block WhatsApp accounts linked to the Taliban, after the group seized control of Afghanistan on Sunday.

The development comes as the Islamic political group sought to use the messaging service as a communication channel amongst its people.

Speaking on the development, Facebook in a release noted that the ban comes to effect as the U.S. law considers the group a terrorist organisation.

The statement reads: “The Taliban is sanctioned as a terrorist organization under US law and we have banned them from our services under our Dangerous Organization policies.”

According to the Facebook release, WhatsApp as a company is required to follow US sanctions.

“This includes banning accounts that appear to represent themselves as official accounts of the Taliban. We’re seeking more information from relevant US authorities given the evolving situation in Afghanistan,” the American social media company further stated.

“This means we remove accounts maintained by or on behalf of the Taliban and prohibit praise, support, and representation of them.

“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.”

READ ALSO: Indian wealth management startup, Smallcase, closes $40M Series C round. 1 other thing and a trivia

Tech Trivia: Registered on March 15, 1985, which of these was the first domain name on the Internet?
A. Symbolics.com
B. Think.com
C. Xerox.com
D. Northrop.com
Answer: See end of post

2. Automobile startup, RepairSmith, raises $42M Series B

Two year old on-demand automobile startup, RepairSmith, has announced closing $42M Series B to bring auto repair to customers’ doorsteps.

After understanding the difficulties that comes with trying to fix mechanical faults in vehicles, the startup wants to make that process a little smoother through its mobile auto repair service that sends a mechanic right to the driver’s home.

Since launch in 2019, the startup has been expanding tremendously, and now in seven states.

The new raiser is expected to be invested into the growing of its operations to encompass every major metropolitan area in the U.S. by the end of 2022.

According to the founder, Milne Bill, the company serves its customers by combining ecommerce and logistics.

He said: “Fundamentally what we’re doing here is e-commerce plus logistics. We’re trying to disrupt probably the biggest retail industry that’s untouched by tech.”

RepairSmith was incepted at Mercedes-Benz’ incubator program, and the company’s first few funding rounds were furnished solely by the automaker.

Tech Trivia Answer: Symbolics.com

The first domain name was Symbolics.com, registered by Cambridge, Massachusetts computer company Symbolics Inc. In addition to being the oldest domain name, it’s also the longest running and you can still visit it today, though it’s no longer under operation by its original owners, who sold the domain in 2009 after 25 years of ownership.

Today Symbolics.com is owned by private digital investment firm XF.com, which bought the domain for an undisclosed amount, presumably as a means of marketing its services, though there is certainly a cool factor in owning the Web’s first domain name.

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