Facebook, Instagram Access Disrupted in Kabul and Mazar-e-Sharif

DID Press: Access to Facebook and Instagram was disrupted on Wednesday in Afghanistan’s Kabul and Mazar-e-Sharif cities, said local residents, in what appears to be a widening restriction on social media platforms.

Users reported being unable to access the two platforms without using VPNs.

Taliban authorities have not commented on the cause of the disruption or whether it is part of new internet restrictions.

It was the second major outage affecting social media in Afghanistan in two days. On Tuesday, users in several provinces also reported problems accessing Instagram.

Technical staff at Afghan telecom companies said the Taliban government recently shared plans with operators for broad internet filtering and increased control of online activity, which may be implemented in phases across the country.

Analysts say tightening of online restrictions comes amid growing limits on media freedom and access to information in Afghanistan.