The Taliban has imposed a widespread ban on social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat on mobile phones, days after the regime regained access to internet services in the country.
According to global internet monitor NetBlocks, access to major social media platforms is currently unavailable in Afghanistan.
A post on X revealed that multiple providers in Afghanistan have now restricted access to social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat.
Other social media platforms, including TikTok, were banned back in 2022.
Users first reported the outage of internet services and restrictions on major social media websites on Monday.
Some users reported a complete cut to access in certain areas, while other websites were down throughout the nation.
Locals living around the capital city complained that they were unable to access the internet and social media sites without VPNs.
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Virtual Private Networks allow users to bypass internet restrictions.
While the authorities have banned the majority of sites, some other social media platforms, such as WhatsApp and X, are reportedly still working in the country.
Earlier, the Taliban regime had restricted internet access in several provinces of the northern region in a bid to curb immorality online.
Meanwhile, despite several requests from the country’s major institutions reporting a slowdown of services due to reduced internet speeds, the Taliban has remained firm on its stance.
The move is intended to prevent society from being exposed to immoral and pornographic content on the internet.
The blanket ban on the internet has affected services such as trade, financial services and healthcare.
Just over half, or 51 per cent, of Afghanistan's estimated population of 44 million has a mobile connection, according to the GSMA, a global association for mobile phone operators.