Menlo Park, California - WhatsApp is busily trying to figure out if the Taliban is using its messaging service to establish its control of Afghanistan and, if so, how it can cut the group out of its network.

According to the Washington Post, the Taliban sent alerts using the popular messaging service to alert Kabul residents when it took control of the city on Sunday. A tweet by Voice of America reporter Ayaz Gul also mentioned the widespread sharing of WhatsApp numbers for a "complaints commission," which people can contact "if they face threats from anyone."

But, since the Taliban are subject to US sanctions, that means the US-based WhatsApp has to find a way to cut all ties to the group

"We're obligated to adhere to US sanctions laws," said a spokesperson. "This includes banning accounts that appear to represent themselves as official accounts of the Taliban. We're seeking more information from relevant US authorities given the evolving situation in Afghanistan."

Since WhatsApp is based on end-to-end encryption, the company cannot read the messages it transmits. That means it has to rely on other identifiers to figure out if Taliban members are using its service, such as photos, names, or profile descriptions to weed out possible violators.

Separately, Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, told Bloomberg that his company – and its parent, Facebook – are working proactively to remove any Taliban presence.

"This situation is evolving rapidly, and with it I’m sure the risk will evolve as well. We are going to have to modify what we do and how we do it to respond to those changing risks as they happen," he said.