TikTok and PUBG were banned by the Taliban on Thursday (April 21). TikTok is a video-sharing app, whereas PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) is a video game. According to the Taliban, these applications are leading Afghanistan’s youth astray. The applications ‘led the young generation astray,’ the government said in a statement, adding that the telecoms ministry was instructed to take them down.
The apps are popular with Afghans, who have had few alternatives for amusement since the Taliban took over the country last year. Music, movies, and television soap operas have all been outlawed by the Taliban. The dictatorship has also ordered the ministry to stop broadcasting ‘immoral material,’ despite the fact that little is transmitted other than news and religious content.
When the Taliban took control following the withdrawal of US forces in August of last year, they attempted to reassure the world that the rule would not be as harsh as the one that existed between 1996 and 2001. However, the Taliban have gradually imposed oppressive social restrictions, notably on women. Most secondary schools for females are still closed, and women are still forbidden from many government professions and from going overseas – or even between cities – unless accompanied by an adult male relative.
According to DataReportal, an independent data collector, slightly over 9 million Afghans have internet connection out of a total population of 38 million. TikTok, which is owned by China, has been stopped down twice in neighboring Pakistan because of claimed ‘indecent’ content. During their former administration, the Taliban’s dreaded religious police prohibited leisure activities such as kite flying and pigeon racing.
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