Taliban shuts down 'queer.af' LGBTQ+ Mastodon instance: What's next?
What's the story
The Afghanistan government, now under Taliban control, has unexpectedly shut down the "queer.af" Mastodon instance, as reported by 404 Media. Erin Shepherd, the instance's administrator, and a key ActivityPub developer, shared that they had plans to close the platform in April, but the sudden termination caught them off guard. Since July 2018, the domain had provided a welcoming social media space for queer and queer-adjacent individuals.
Spreading
Other '.af' domains affected
Shepherd also mentioned that all .af domains obtained via the Gandi domain registrar have been closed, including inet.af. Although Gandi.net has not confirmed this, their website currently states that they have ceased registering, transferring, renewing, or restoring .af domain names. Internet Archive records indicate that Gandi.net stopped accepting new registrations for domain extension in October 2020, and also disabled renewals by November of the same year.
Problems
Risks of using country code TLDs
Using country code top-level domains (ccTLDs) outside their designated countries can have significant consequences. For example, Ukraine requested the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) to disable the Russia-administered ".ru" extension after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. ICANN denied the request, but domain providers terminated services for customers using the extension, and Reddit blocked links with it.
Suggestion
Always use generic TLDs
Websites are encouraged to use generic TLDs like ".com" or ".net" that don't have a specific connection to a country/organization. Most sites on the web use such extensions, and this ensures they don't get blocked easily.