Egypt Jails TikTok Women Influencers for ‘Indecent’ Content

A court in Egypt recently sentenced five female social media influencers to two years in jail each on charges of “violating public morals,” Al Jazeera reported on Monday.

Haneen Hossam, Mowada al-Adham, and three others were handed the verdict after they allegedly posted “indecent” content on the video-sharing app TikTok. The ruling “included a fine of 300,000 Egyptian pounds ($18,750) for each defendant.”

Cairo University student Haneen Hossam, 20, was charged for “encouraging young women to meet men through a video app and build friendships with them, receiving a fee according to the number of followers watching these chats,” the report stated.

Egyptian TikTok and Instagram influencer Mawada al-Adham “was accused of publishing indecent photos and videos on social media.” She reportedly has over two million social media followers.

Three other women were charged with “helping Hossam and Al-Adham manage their social media accounts,” according to the public prosecution.

Confirming the sentences, Al-Adham’s lawyer Ahmed el-Bahkeri said “they would appeal the verdict.”

Egyptian authorities arrested Hossam in April after she allegedly posted “a three-minute clip telling her 1.3 million followers that girls could make money by working with her.”

In May, authorities arrested Adham for allegedly posting “satirical videos on TikTok and Instagram.”

Egypt, a Muslim country, has cracked down on women entertainers in recent years for posting online content considered immoral by state authorities. Last month, Egyptian belly dancer Sama al-Masry was sentenced to three years in prison for “inciting debauchery” on social media after she posted a dance video to TikTok.

Last week, another Islamic nation, Pakistan, issued TikTok a “final” warning after complaining that its leaders have not done enough to moderate “obscene” content posted to the platform. TikTok is owned by Chinese company ByteDance.