Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn said this week that they have taken action to protect the accounts of Afghan citizens to prevent them from being targeted during the Taliban’s rapid takeover of the country.
Facebook’s head of security policy Nathaniel Gleicher tweeted on Thursday (August 19) that Facebook has temporarily cancelled the ability for people to view or search the friend list of their Afghan accounts.
Gleicher also stated that the company has launched a “one-click tool” for Afghan users to lock their accounts, so people who are not their Facebook friends will not be able to see their timeline posts or share their profile photos.
Human rights groups expressed concern that the Taliban might use online platforms to track the digital history or social relationships of Afghans. Amnesty International said this week that thousands of Afghans, including academics, journalists and human rights defenders, are at serious risk of retaliation by the Taliban.
The former captain of the Afghan women’s football team also urged players to delete social media and delete their public identities.
Twitter Inc stated that it is in contact with civil society partners to provide support to groups in the country, and is working with the Internet Archive to expedite requests for direct deletion of archived tweets.
It stated that if individuals cannot access accounts that contain information that might put them at risk (such as direct messages or followers), the company can temporarily suspend the account until the user regains access and can delete its content.
Twitter also said that it is actively monitoring accounts associated with government organizations, and may temporarily suspend accounts, waiting for other information to confirm its identity.
A LinkedIn spokesperson said that Microsoft’s professional social networking site temporarily hides the connections of its users in Afghanistan, so other users will not be able to see them.
