Amid a regional moral panic by authorities over the new generation's use of social media platforms like TikTok and YouTube, Egypt recently widened its crackdown on young content creators, especially women, in an attempt to control forms of expression.
This new series of arrests also followed a report by 32 Egyptian lawyers, accusing TikTok content creators of violating Egyptian family values and posting inappropriate content on social media. Out of the ten influencers mentioned in the lawyers' report, eight were women from poor social backgrounds.
Among the female influencers highlighted is an 18-year-old, known as Suzy el-Ordoneya, who was previously sentenced by the Juvenile Court to two years in prison and fined EGP 300,000 (about $6,200) for posting a live stream on TikTok where she was deemed to be verbally abusive of her father.
Egyptian authorities have demonstrated their intolerance to free speech over the years, clamping down on media outlets, as well as intimidating and even imprisoning political opponents.
In this vein, rights advocates and observers argue that the current crackdown on content creators and influencers on video-sharing platforms reflects the government's desire to impose its moral guardianship.
Egyptian authorities started giving a hard time to those using video-sharing platforms as of 2020, when they arrested some content creators and influencers under the accusation of indecency and posting inappropriate content, which rights groups say are "vague".
"This campaign is founded on morally and socially biased criteria, ones that are based on vague and legally undefined rules," human rights advocate Negad al-Borae said to The New Arab. "Some of the creators make content with a comic nature, which has nothing to do with either morality or family values."
He described accusations that the content creators and influencers violate family values as a "joke".
"Weak governments fear everything, but strong governments that are confident about their policies and popularity fear nothing," al-Borae said.
"In vibrant societies, people can criticise their government with no fear, but in ones that belong to the past, there is always a desire to block all channels of expression," he added.
Paving the way for control
The current crackdown on social media influencers and content creators comes on the heels of a massive demonisation campaign, which included accusations that some of these influencers were involved in a series of crimes, like trafficking in human organs.
These accusations lack any type of proof, but they have a chilling effect on public sympathy towards content creators.
"This has nothing to do with free speech," an Egyptian man commented on X.
"I don't want these people to go to jail, but they need to be brought into line and stop posting this sickening content," he added.
Another commenter accused the same creators of being involved in money laundering, offering no evidence to the claim.
Despite this, some members of the public also view the current campaign as a form of discrimination, especially as it singles out female content creators from low-income backgrounds, including Ordoneya, who was dependent on the revenues her videos generate.
"Generally speaking, I feel sad for Ordoneya," one Facebook user wrote.
"They arrest her every now and then," wrote another.
Some commentators following the current crackdown on content creators and influencers argue that it cannot be viewed without considering shrinking freedoms in Egypt.
Various rights groups, including local NGO Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, have now called for a more precise definition of what constitutes "offensive" or "inappropriate" content.
Moreover, the same crackdown throws light on concern inside government quarters about the growing popularity of those platforms, the same observers added.
Social media has been catching on in Egypt for several years now.
In 2024, there were 82.01 million internet users in Egypt, including 45.40 million who used social media. This constituted almost 40 percent of the total population of 113.6 million.
The same internet users included 32.94 million who used TikTok and 44.70 million who used YouTube.
This may explain why the desire to rein in the same platforms is seeping out of government quarters and into the parliament, whose members are mostly pro-government.
Ahmed Badawi, a member of the Committee on Communications in the parliament, recently revealed that he and fellow committee members had met the CEO of TikTok for Egypt and North Africa earlier and had given him three months to comply with Egyptian social and moral standards.
Nevertheless, he clarified that the parliament, or the National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, the government body regulating communications and internet activity in Egypt, which was represented in the meeting, would take action in case of non-compliance by the platform.
Bleak realities
Apart from being steeped in politics and freedoms, video-sharing platforms are thoroughly immersed in Egypt's economic and living conditions.
Most TikTok and YouTube celebrities are originally impecunious, often uneducated, people who are using these platforms to make money in a country where almost a third of the population is officially designated as "poor".
People following those celebrities have seen how they moved from abject poverty to stunning wealth, only in a short time, relying on the income they generate from their videos.
This comes as specialists point to the vast wealth those content creators amass from video-sharing platforms, either from direct advertisement or sponsorship.
"These platforms bring a lot of money for people who succeed in making content that attracts a large number of views," independent cybersecurity expert Mohamed Sedki told TNA.
"This is why most people view them as a good way to make money and escape poverty," he added.
These high profits are probably why more and more people share their own videos and create their own channels on the same platforms.
Some content creators film themselves enjoying a meal, while others film themselves cleaning and tidying clean their homes, and a third group film themselves pranking family members and friends.
A few content creators also seem to be willing to do or say anything to gain attention, which clarifies the reasons behind the current backlash against these platforms. While most of the content posted by these people has nothing to do with politics, some of the language used in the same videos is shockingly obscene.
A content creator called Umm Sajeda (mother of Sajeda), for example, posts videos of her promoting some street food or local makeup brands.
Nonetheless, some of her videos are criticised for using inappropriate language and gestures.
"I don't condone the jailing of these creators, but at the same time, they need to be forced to abide by the moral values of society," Sedki said.
"If left without limits or regulations, the video-sharing platforms can turn into a tool of social destruction," he added.