Taliban Shuts Down LGBTQ+ Mastodon Instance 'queer.af'

The shutdown, enforced by Afghanistan's control of the '.af' domain, surprised the platform's administrator.

The Taliban, controlling Afghanistan since 2021, shut down the LGBTQ-oriented Mastodon instance 'queer.af' due to its '.af' domain administered by the Afghan government.
Erin Shepherd, the platform's administrator, intended to close the instance in April, but the sudden termination by the Afghanistan Ministry of Communications and IT was unexpected.
The shutdown reflects the Taliban's broader control over internet domains in Afghanistan, impacting other '.af' domains as well.
Using country code top-level domains (ccTLDs) outside their designated countries can have significant implications, as seen with Ukraine's request to ICANN regarding the '.ru' extension post-Russia invasion.
The incident underscores the risks of utilizing ccTLDs for domains, highlighting the safer alternative of generic TLDs like '.com' or '.net'.