For the first time since reassuming control of its country in 2021, Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban regime this week shut down huge swaths of internet access across multiple northern provinces, which contain the nation’s major population centers. The ban applies only to high-speed fiber optic connections and is intended to “prevent immorality,” a government spokesperson said Wednesday. But for many Afghans — particularly women — the move is the latest impediment to education and economic security imposed under the Taliban. As the Afghan government vows to expand the high-speed ban for the whole country, concerns have grown over the lasting effects of such a change.

Why is high-speed internet being throttled?

The crackdown on internet access comes after the Taliban released a “long set of ru

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