Taliban banned from Facebook but not Twitter or YouTube

Aug. 17 (UPI) -- Facebook said Tuesday it will continue its ban of the Taliban and is taking down any content proactively supporting the Islamic militant group, which has taken over Afghanistan.

The Taliban have been banned under Facebook for years under its Dangerous Individuals and Organization policy, but a Facebook spokesperson told Insider that the company is actively taking down content favoring the extremist group.

TikTok is also banning pro-Taliban content, sharing a view with Facebook of the Taliban as a terrorist organization.

The Taliban recently regained control of Afghanistan after 20 years. It seized Kabul and the Presidential Palace. The Taliban made advances since President Joe Biden's decision to withdraw all United States troops from Afghanistan.

The ban applies to Instagram and WhatsApp, but the Taliban are using WhatsApp -- an end-to-end encrypted platform -- to communicate.

YouTube and Twitter have not made similar bans. Google-owned YouTube cited the U.S. Foreign Terrorist Organizations list, stating that the Taliban is not on it.