Egypt’s Minister of Interior Mahmoud Tawfik has reportedly issued ‘strict instructions’ to the Ministry of Interior’s General Department for the Protection of Moral Values and Information Technology to monitor social media accounts for any content that harms or offends public morals, family sanctity, the traditions of society or otherwise promotes debauchery. According to local media reports, the monitoring and targeting of social media for content that violates public morals or presents Egypt in a bad light is ongoing, with instructions from the Minister of Interior to take action against all those deemed to have published any such content. Companies, publishers and anyone else involved in the publication and circulation of any offending content will also be targeted. The news comes days after popular TikTok star Mawada Eladhm was arrested on charges of “violating family principles and values in Egyptian society” and “establishing, managing and using [websites and social media accounts] with the aim of committing those crimes”. The 22-year-old, who has more than five million followers across her social media platforms, was arrested on the 14th of May after being tracked by vice police officers working for the General Department…
Egypt’s Vice Police are Targeting Social Media Users for ‘Violation of Public Morals’
May 19, 2020
