The Egyptian interior ministry's recent crackdown on TikTok content creators and influencers has triggered widespread concerns over human rights in the country.
The most notable arrest has been of an 18-year-old vlogger and influencer known as "Suzy el Ordoneya", with the ministry stating the detention came following "multiple reports" filed against her.
The arrest was made on Saturday in New Cairo, where a police unit was dispatched.
She was previously sentenced by the Juvenile Court to two years in prison and fined EGP 300,000 ($6,200) over a viral TikTok livestream in which she was accused of verbally abusing her father, using what prosecutors described as "indecent language". At the time, bail was set at EGP 100,000 ($2,070).
Her arrest has been denounced on social media, with one user commenting: "Why is it only women and only women from a certain social class getting arrested for indecency".
Others blasted authorities for coming after her, with one person writing: "Is there no one else but her?"
According to The New Arab’s Arabic language sister publication, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, several young men and women who regularly post content on TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube have been arrested.
Reports state that authorities did not disclose clear details about the nature of the charges, but said the arrests were made due to "violating family values and publishing inappropriate content".
The vague charges, which have in recent years been regularly used against several content creators, have triggered alarm over human rights in the country.
Rights organisations have denounced the "systematic targeting of girls and young women", urging Egyptian authorities to halt the "moral guardianship" imposed on digital content, and emphasising that sanctions should not be used as a tool for societal intimidation or to suppress freedom of expression, Arabic reports stated.
Others are increasingly worried that the crackdown on content is gradually narrowing spaces of expression on social media, which have become a haven for many people to share their views and content that otherwise would not have been possible through traditional media platforms.
Other prominent influencers who have been targeted and arrested include Haneen Hossam, Mawadda al-Adham, and Mai Farouk.
According to Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, experts are warning over the lack of criteria and information on what constitutes "offensive content" or content that "violates family values", leading to arrests over subjective interpretation of online material.
They also warned that those who are from marginalised groups are especially being targeted.
Pro-government local media have not issued further information on the arrests, but simply stated that "well-known vloggers have been arrested in criminal cases", without further elaboration.