Egyptian authorities have been rounding up teenaged TikTokers with millions of followers, detaining dozens in recent weeks on accusations ranging from violating family values to laundering money.
Reports indicate that dozens of arrests have been announced by Police and prosecutors say they are investigating at least 10 cases of alleged unlawful financial gains.
Authorities have also imposed travel bans, asset freezes and confiscated devices to aid ongoing investigations to rally those found culpable of the projected crimes.
Critics say the escalation fits into a broader effort by the state to police speech and codify conduct, in a country where social media has long served as one of the few alternatives to traditional media largely controlled by the state.
Lawyers say indecency laws are vague. The authorities can go through a TikTokker’s entire back catalogue of posts, and if they find even a single post they consider indecent, they can declare influencers’ income illegal and charge them with financial crimes over their earnings.
