Taliban bans TikTok, PUBG in Afghanistan

The Taliban government has banned the popular video-sharing app TikTok and the multiplayer game PUBG in Afghanistan. They say these apps and games are “misleading the youths”.

The Taliban government has said “it will ban television channels that broadcast immoral programs”. Music, movies and television soap operas have been banned in the country recently and the apps and games have been banned anew.

Inamullah Samangani, a spokesman for the Taliban government, said the latest bans were needed to protect the younger generation from being misled.

However, Taliban leaders did not say when or for how long the ban would take effect. This is the first time they have banned an app in the country since coming to power last August.

Hameed Shuja, an editor of the BBC’s Afghan Service, says TikTok and PUBG have become popular among young Afghans in recent months as entertainment has closed in Afghanistan.

The Taliban has also said it will ban television channels that broadcast immoral programs.

The previous government of Afghanistan also tried to ban the online shooting game called Player Unknowns Battlegrounds (PUBG) made in South Korea. But that attempt failed.

Internet use among youths has increased dramatically in Afghanistan in recent years. At present, there are about 9 million internet users in the country.

Two-thirds of the country’s 39 million people are under the age of 25.

The Taliban banned the app on Thursday, the day of the bombings in four Afghan cities. The bombing killed 31 people and injured six others. The international terrorist group IS has claimed responsibility for the attack.

On August 15 last year, the Taliban overthrew the Western-backed Ashraf Ghani government and took power in Afghanistan. After the formation of the government, they have promised to take a liberal approach in various fields in the country.

Source: BBC