Ai generated TLDR:
The Taliban is distributing free SIM cards to Afghan refugees, likely to collect biometric data for tracking and surveillance purposes. SIM cards are valuable to governments for controlling communication networks and monitoring populations. Despite economic uncertainty, Afghanistan’s telecom industry has reported positive growth, with plans for building new towers. The Taliban’s regressive policies have barred women and girls from working, being educated, or visiting parks, and the value of tracking them is higher for the Taliban than the risk of giving them access to the world’s information. Internet shutdowns and government control over communication networks can cause economic and civilian harm, yet they are becoming increasingly common worldwide.
Can include the contents of messages you’re sending. So if they’re using Signal, then at least they can see what they’re talking about.
Would be awesome if they somehow ended up using signal as a means to facilitate remote learning. Mind you they’d have to be very careful and hide it from any potential snitches…