Hi, this is Jamie in Singapore and Eltaf in New Delhi. Since taking power in Afghanistan, the Taliban is expanding internet in the countryâw
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Hi, this is Jamie in Singapore and Eltaf in New Delhi.  Since taking power in Afghanistan, the Taliban is expanding internet in the countryâwith restrictions. But first... Todayâs must-reads: ⢠Lawyers for Twitter and Elon Musk [are sparring over]( how a whistle-blowerâs accusations could affect a proposed $44 billion takeover ⢠A Thai YouTuber is [accused of defrauding followers]( out of $55 million ⢠Snap is planning to lay off 20% of staff, [according to reports]( One year after capturing Kabul, the Taliban is online A year after reclaiming power in Afghanistan, the Taliban is showing that it doesnât mind the internet so much after all. The Taliban, which previously blocked web access to thwart what it called immorality and obscenity, recently said itâs upgrading Afghanistanâs internet networks to 4G, a shift that marks the groupâs embrace of a Western technology that it has long railed against. Now, a few areas in the capital are connected to 4G, and the Taliban expects to work with a network provider to expand that connectivity to remote areas of the country, Najibullah Haqqani, the Talibanâs acting minister of telecommunications and information technology, told Bloomberg. Most Afghans with internet access now rely on 2G technology. The fundamentalist Islamic group was already been active on Meta Platforms Inc.âs WhatsApp. It previously used social media to broadcast anti-US propaganda and now relies on WhatsApp and Twitter to publish government orders and press releases. The groupâs main spokesman used Twitter to inform his 660,000 followers that women are ordered to cover themselves from head to toe, for instance. âTheyâre more media savvy than they used to be and theyâve developed a dependency on these services as well, so it may no longer be in their interests to disconnect,â says Doug Madory, director of internet analysis at San Francisco-based network monitoring firm Kentik. âAs much as they might aspire to go back to a medieval world, WhatsApp comes in handy.â A quarter of Afghanistanâs 38 million people connect to the internet from their mobile phones, according to figures provided to Bloomberg by the Taliban. While Afghans try to find Wi-Fi, the government is learning to use the web like a blunt instrument. Last year, Taliban officials suspended connectivity across Kabul to stop Afghans from organizing protests during their capture of the capital. In Afghanistan's northeast, the Taliban also cut the internet to deter online recruitment by opposing forces. Activists and human rights organizations say there continue to be targeted shutdowns to stifle protest and restrict media reporting on violations in regions including Balkhab, Andarab and Panjshir. The Taliban admits it blocked 23 million âimmoralâ websites, which it says broadcast un-Islamic content. Connectivity in Afghanistan has always been spotty and maintenance costs money. Haqqani told reporters that the government had collected 6.8 billion Afghanis ($77 million) in taxes from internet and mobile phone operators this year. The government also announced that it has ordered operators to cut the prices they're charging users. Thatâs because Afghans have found that while prices have gone up, service has dwindled. Ahmadullah Wali, whoâs studying for a BA in Economics at Kabul University, says he can search for most anything he wants, but âwhether we have good speed or bad depends on the location.â âThe only issue now is higher internet prices,â he said. He also knows the Taliban is watching social media. âPeople are now more cautious than ever before when posting online,â he says, adding that users have deleted anti-Taliban posts and now use aliases to cloak their identity. Access Now, a nonprofit that advocates for digital rights, notes that even if the average Afghan has access to Google, the fear of surveillance or the ability of the Taliban to be able to monitor browser history is stunting freedom. Activists, journalists and human rights workers âhave consistently shared that their mobile phones are routinely checked by the Taliban to gather sensitive information,â says Namrata Maheshwari, Asia Pacific Policy Counsel at Access Now.  âThere is a very real link between digital safety and physical safety,â she said. â[Jamie Tarabay](mailto: jtarabay2@bloomberg.net) and [Eltaf Najafizada](mailto:enajafizada1@bloomberg.net)
The big story When YouTube moderators took action against terrorist groups like the Islamic State, the company stopped short of muting the spread of white nationalist viewpoints. The video giantâs [ongoing struggles]( highlight how Big Tech has continued to wrestle with such evolving rhetoric. What else you need to know Best Buyâs profit surpassed Wall Street [estimates after a warning]( about waning consumer-electronics demand. French tax authorities are trying to catch tax cheats by [using artificial intelligence]( to find undeclared swimming pools. Seattleâs most prominent venture capital firm, Madrona, [is opening its first office]( in California. Albanian police have [arrested the CEO of Thodex](, a cryptocurrency trading platform. A Boston Dynamics executive tells Bloomberg TV that [robots are âstill pretty stupid,](â but theyâve come a long way. Join Bloomberg Live in London for the [Bloomberg Technology Summit]( on Sept. 28 to see Europeâs business leaders, policymakers, entrepreneurs and investors explain how theyâre adapting to this new environmentâand discuss solution-based strategies. Follow Us More from Bloomberg Dig gadgets or video games? [Sign up for Power On]( to get Apple scoops, consumer tech news and more in your inbox on Sundays. [Sign up for Game On]( to go deep inside the video game business, delivered on Fridays. Why not try both? Like getting this newsletter? [Subscribe to Bloomberg.com]( for unlimited access to trusted, data-driven journalism and subscriber-only insights.âââââââ You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Fully Charged newsletter. If a friend forwarded you this message, [sign up here]( to get it in your inbox.
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