ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — As the Taliban's swiftness to take over Afghanistan as American military forces withdraw shocked President Joe Biden and other U.S. leaders, a spokesperson has been allowed to tweet updates about its seizure of the country.
According to the Washington Examiner, a Taliban spokesperson's Twitter account has more than 287,000 followers and provides regular updates on the organization's take over of Afghanistan. Another spokesperson with about 60,000 followers is also able to tweet updates.
However on Facebook, where former President Donald Trump is banned as a result of the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, the Taliban cannot post there, either, according to CNBC. Twitter also blocked the former president from using its service.
"The Taliban is sanctioned as a terrorist organization under U.S. law and we have banned them from our services under our Dangerous Organization policies," a Facebook spokesperson told CNBC. Facebook's ban on the Taliban has been in place for several years, the spokesperson added.
As to why Twitter continues to allow the Taliban on its platform, "the situation in Afghanistan is rapidly evolving," a Twitter spokesperson told CNBC. "We're also witnessing people in the country using Twitter to seek help and assistance. Twitter's top priority is keeping people safe, and we remain vigilant."
The decisions as to who social media companies choose to ban from their platforms and why have been a contentious topic over the last year or so.
Trump's case is perhaps the most well-known. Since his social media ban, a debate has sparked among lawmakers as to the influence social media companies have on the nation's conversations.
In July, Trump sued Facebook, Twitter and YouTube over his suspensions, claiming he and other conservatives have been wrongfully censored.
A Trump spokesperson told the Washington Examiner the former president is "confident" he'll win the lawsuit.
"Big Tech gives a platform to America's enemies and all who hate our freedoms, yet banned the highest vote-getting incumbent president in history, President Trump, and deplatforms, censors, and shadow-bans his tens of millions of supporters," she told the news outlet.
In Florida, a law against "de-platforming" politicians was passed during the last legislative session. However, almost just as quickly as Gov. Ron DeSantis put pen to paper to make it a law, he and Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody were sued.
At the end of June, a judge temporarily blocked the bill from becoming law. The "big tech" crackdown law would have allowed the state to fine social media companies if they de-platformed or censored political candidates.
Technology companies faced a fine of up to $250,000 per day from the Florida Election Commission if they removed a candidate running for statewide office from their service. Violations involving candidates vying for office out of state included a $25,000 a day fine.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis made Senate Bill 7072 a top priority since early February after several companies de-platformed users and websites said to be spreading misinformation and conspiracy theories, most prominently Trump.