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Beginning in July 2025, Egyptian authorities started intensify a morality based crackdown that now targets online content creators on TikTok and other short video platforms, treating digital entertainment as a threat to public morals and family values The Interior Ministry’s morality police, working with other police units, has detained dozens of creators accused of producing indecent content or using indecent language, even when videos consist of ordinary comedy, dance or lifestyle clips This campaign extends earlier morality prosecutions of artists and influencers into the algorithm driven space of social media, where young people, women and lower income users have built audiences outside state controlled media.

Morality laws and vague offences
The crackdown relies on a mix of penal code provisions and the 2018 cybercrime law, which criminalizes infringing principles or family values in Egyptian society using language so broad that almost any non-conservative expression can be targeted. Prosecutors routinely invoke charges such as violating public morals, promoting debauchery and undermining family values, without defining what specific behaviour constitutes a crime Rights groups describe this as a tool of social control rather than genuine law enforcement, allowing police and judges to enforce conservative norms and class prejudices under the guise of protecting society.

Targeting high visibility creators
Authorities have shown particular interest in creators with large followings, treating popularity and monetization as aggravating factors instead of indicators of creative success Egyptian comedian and content creator Mohamed Abdelaty, who had more than half a million followers on TikTok, was arrested on 4 August 2025 over videos featuring comedy sketches, commentary and weightlifting content alleged to include indecent language His pre-trial detention has been repeatedly renewed and prosecutors added money laundering accusations, a now familiar tactic that reframes morality cases as serious financial crimes linked to earning income from social media platforms.

Belly dancers and control of women bodies
Women, especially dancers and lifestyle influencers, remain at the centre of morality policing, with their bodies and movements treated as evidence of criminality. In a recent campaign, four belly dancers, Badiaa, Noura Denial, Boosi al Asad and Doosa, were arrested for TikTok videos showing them dancing in outfits authorities described as indecent and in violation of public morals. These arrests echo earlier prosecutions of dancers and female influencers on charges of inciting debauchery and corrupting public morals, reinforcing a message that women who use digital platforms for visibility and income can be punished and publicly shamed.

Digital platforms under tightening control
By pushing morality policing onto TikTok and similar platforms, Egypt is consolidating state control over spaces that once offered relatively unfiltered creative expression. Police activity is now intertwined with content moderation, as authorities encourage public reporting of allegedly immoral videos and sometimes directly engage online to warn creators, deepening a climate of surveillance and self-censorship. For artists and creators, this campaign signals that the risks long faced in cinema, television and live performance now fully extend to the digital sphere, narrowing the remaining room for artistic freedom and everyday creativity in Egypt.

Egypt is expanding its morality crackdown into the digital sphere, targeting TikTok creators and other online artists under vague indecency and family values laws.

Comedians, belly dancers and young influencers are being arrested for ordinary entertainment content, while high follower counts and monetization are treated as aggravating factors rather than creative success. The campaign shows how Egypt is extending long standing cultural censorship practices into algorithm driven platforms, shrinking the remaining space for artistic freedom and everyday creativity online.

Read the full Mimeta Memos article on how morality laws are reshaping digital expression in Egypt, and what this means for artists, influencers and human rights defenders.

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