Twitter Cracks Down On Taliban, To 'Proactively Enforce' Rules Against Glorification Of Violence

Twitter's reaction to the ongoing situation came after Taliban's rapid takeover of Afghanistan which poses a fresh set of challenges for social media platforms.

(Representative Image)

New Delhi: Reacting upon the ongoing crisis in Afghanistan, micro-blogging site Twitter on Tuesday said that a lot of people stuck in the country are seeking help and assistance on the platform and its top priority is to keep people safe. 

"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," news agency ANI quoted a Twitter spokesperson as saying.

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

Twitter's reaction to the ongoing situation came after Taliban's rapid takeover of Afghanistan which poses a fresh set of challenges for social media platforms to curb and monitor content shared by a group considered to be terrorists by various countries and governments. 

Earlier in the day, Facebook announced that it has banned the Taliban and all content supporting the insurgents from its platforms as it considers the group to be a terrorist organisation.

The social media giant also said that it has a dedicated team of Afghan experts to monitor and remove content linked to the group, the BBC reported..

For years, the Taliban has used social media to spread its messages.

Even on Twitter, several Taliban spokesmen with thousands of followers have tweeted, as the organisation retook control of Afghanistan.

In response to BBC questions about the Taliban's use of Twitter, a company spokesperson highlighted policies against violent organisations and hateful conduct. According to its rules, Twitter does not allow groups that promote terrorism or violence against civilians.