Exclusive-Google locks Afghan government accounts as Taliban seek emails -source

FILE PHOTO: A logo is seen on the New York Google offices. New York City, U.S., July 29, 2021. REUTERS/Andrew Kell/File Photo

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Google has temporarily locked down an unspecified number of Afghan government email accounts, according to a person familiar with the matter, as fears grow over the digital paper trail left by former officials and their international partners.

In the weeks since the Taliban's swift takeover of Afghanistan from a U.S.-backed government, reports have highlighted how biometric https://theintercept.com/2021/08/17/afghanistan-taliban-military-biometrics and Afghan payroll https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/08/30/1033941/afghanistan-biometric-databases-us-military-40-data-points databases might be exploited by the new rulers to hunt their enemies.