The New York Times reported Taliban government officials increasingly use WhatsApp to communicate. WhatsApp owner Meta is engaged in an uphill battle to block the accounts in order to comply. Taliban officials then try finding workarounds to access the app, like buying new SIM cards and creating new accounts, prompting a cyclical cat-and-mouse game. It remains unclear what proof Meta officials require that a WhatsApp account is associated with a Taliban user before blocking them. WhatsApp, in particular, has long faced criticism from law enforcement groups (and praise from data privacy experts) for its standardized end-to-end encryption.

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Persons: Meta, —, Shir Ahmad Burhani, WhatsApp, James Comey, Comey Organizations: New York Times, Meta, Times, Afghanistan's Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Defense, US Patriot, FBI Locations: Afghanistan, California, Baghlan Province