Taliban slams Facebook, USA over questions on free speech

The Taliban has slammed what it terms the hypocrisy of branding the U.S. and Facebook as proponents of censorship of free speech after a question about the regime’s stance on freedom of expression.

This was in reaction to a question that was dismissed by the Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, on Tuesday.

“This question should be asked to those people who are claiming to be promoters of freedom of speech, who do not allow publication of all information,” Mujahid responded to a question about freedom of speech in the new government.

“I can ask the Facebook company. This question should be asked to them.”

READ ALSO: Taliban implores Afghan women to join new Govt, pledges amnesty

Notably, the Taliban mentioned Facebook on censoring of free speech and not Twitter, which has permitted Taliban leaders to remain on the platform.

Facebook, however, issued a statement to the BBC that Taliban accounts will continue to be banned.

“The Taliban is sanctioned as a terrorist organization under U.S. law and we have banned them from our services under our Dangerous Organization policies,” a Facebook spokesman told the BBC on Monday night.

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

“We also have 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.”

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