Over Taliban fears and anxieties, the Taliban has made heavy restrictions on internet access in five provinces of northern Afghanistan. They claim fears of unethical conduct drove this decision. This decision affects Kunduz, Badakhshan, Baghlan, Takhar, and Balkh. In the interim, the Taliban plans to restrict access to material they deem unfit, including porn and virtual communication between men and women.
The prohibition covers major population centers in all of these states’ urbanized areas—with significant consequences on the quality of life for millions of residents. The Taliban does indeed wish to impose moral standards. This is an attempt at stopping what they consider immoral acts that result from the online speech. A statement from the provincial government underscored this intention, declaring, “This measure has been taken to prevent immoral activities.”
Since the Taliban’s reestablishment of their Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan in 2021, this is their first large scale limitation of internet access. The group has a record of imposing draconian measures. They have banned girls from secondary education and barred women from working in several sectors.
Even as U.S. and Afghan officials prayed for a Twitter miracle, former U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad called the ban “absurd.” As the Taliban take over, here’s what they should prioritize. These systems are ones that dozens of Islamic nations already have in place. In his words, “If pornography is truly the issue, as is done in so many Islamic nations, it can be very easily filtered. Eight out of 10 countries in the Islamic world do just that.
As the Taliban’s declaration begins to sink in, we are left wondering how this will affect freedom of expression and access to information within Afghanistan. Critics contend that these kind of limitations are part of a larger trend to eliminate personal freedoms and rights during their administration.
